The Unexpected Becomes Expected
by TheBlackDragonette
Summary: CIA Agent Cassandra Olivers never expected that she would ever be part of a zombie apocalypse, she never expected that she would have to raise a 9 year old girl who has similar scars to Cassandra, and she NEVER EVER expected she would fall in love. But when a zombie apocalypse happens, when she meets Maddy, and she meets Daryl Dixon, the unexpected becomes somehow expected.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! Welcome to this lovely story and I hope you enjoy! **

"This is nice," My best friend and partner Katie sighed as she sipped on her strawberry lemonade as we relaxed in the Georgia heat at a table that was outside of the deli we ordered our food from as I bit into my order which was a plain old turkey sandwich with some vegetables and mustard.

"What is?" I asked as I swallowed the piece of food in my mouth.

"Not being shot at by Russian spies or having to escape a trap while 20 feet in the air in Chile," Katie answered as she bit into her ham sandwich which had the exact same vegetables on it as mine and mustard too.

"I don't know about that," I sipped on my peach tea as Katie laughed, brushing a strand of her dirty blonde hair behind her ear as her hazel eyes stared at me

"It's better than dealing with puberty again," I shrugged and she nodded in agreement.

"You got into so many fights when we were in junior high," Katie commented.

"Oh, don't act like you're an angel! Remember when you broke Samuel Grace's arm?" I asked and she laughed.

"He was asking for it!" Katie exclaimed.

"He asked you if it hurt when you fell from heaven," I laughed.

"On, that was a horrible flirt and two I was dating Ryan Peters!" Katie laughed.

"He was such a chump," I told him and she rolled her eyes.

"I'd take him over Agent Ryan," She commented.

"He's such a jackass," I mumbled.

If you can't tell already, Katie and I have best friends for quite a while since middle school when I moved to a small city in Missouri and we had the same class together. We were practically sisters always hanging out together in the woods that was near the city that Katie was born and we were both raised in, doing crazy dares, hunting animals since Katie's dad was a hunter and taught me how to hunt with a hunting rifle and a crossbow, and climbing trees to see who could climb the highest which would end up having someone break a bone or at least sprain something. We never did the braiding hair or making friendship bracelet crap, hell no, I would've rather been eaten by a grizzly bear than that. We were inseparable and "like two peas in a pod" like my foster mom would say. We both decided that we wanted to become CIA agents when we were 11 and luckily we were both accepted and placed in the same field as partners once we graduated out of college.

"But I'm glad the boss gave us the week off after the drug cartel in Chile," Katie sighed.

"That was horrible," I shuddered, thinking about what happened to our two other agents who were with us but sadly they were gone or we would be having lunch with them as well.

"I still have nightmares about it," Katie murmured.

"I do too," I sighed.

"The guy simply got up from a shot to the heart and bit Agent Grimm in the neck and began to devour him," Katie shuddered.

"We were lucky to make it out alive," I told her and she nodded.

"I'm going to save these chips for tonight," Katie held up her bag of barbeque chips as she finished up her sandwich.

"Me too, I'm so full," I groaned and we stood up.

"We should come here tomorrow again before we leave," Katie commented as we started walking down the sidewalk with other pedestrians.

"Our plane leaves at 7 so we should be able to go one last time," I shrugged as a shrill scream entered our ears.

"What the hell?" Katie mumbled as both of our hands went instinctively to our guns hidden underneath our coats as people started running the opposite direction we were walking.

"Some dude just ate a chick and now she's eating people!" A guy shouted at us and we looked at each other thinking about what happened in Chile.

"This surely can't be happening here," I told her as we shoved past running pedestrians as we pulled out our guns and turning off the safety on our guns as we witnessed a horrifying sight.

Five people were gnawing on dead bodies everywhere and I saw several more people limping in directions towards screaming people.

"Holy shit," Katie mumbled.

"We need to do our job," I told her and she nodded as we quickly fired upon the five dead corpses, and they laid on top of their prey.

Hearing the gunshots, the rest of the walkers turned to face us except one who was gnawing on an old lady from what I can tell.

"How many bullets do you have?" I asked her.

"I have 15 bullets left in this magazine and 5 magazines, how about you?" Katie asked.

"I have 14 bullets left and 6 magazines," I answered as the people who looked pretty much dead with their sallow skin, bloody injuries that probably only Superman could survive, and those hollow gold eyes that stared into my mismatched green and blue eyes.

"We need to go to the hotel, we have more guns," Katie told me.

"I couldn't agree more," I nodded as I saw more people rise up from their lying positions and start walking towards us like a herd.

We quickly ran for our car that was parked in front of the now abandoned deli and I saw Katie grab some open chip bags from the other tables.

"What're you doing?!" I shouted.

"Just in case!" She snapped and I quickly hopped into the driver seat of our silver Ford Escape and Katie ran around to get in the passenger seat and plopped in as Katie revved her engine and drove towards the hotel they were staying in.

"They're exactly like the things in Chile!" Katie exclaimed.

"Yeah, I think they are the same," I murmured as I gripped the steering wheel, trying to get out of the crazy traffic and took a speedy left over a curb which made a walker go flying.

"What did Agent Samuels call them before he died?" Katie asked.

"Walkers?" I asked and she nodded.

"We should've known this would happen," Katie mumbled.

"I'm surprised it came so fast," I replied.

"I hope Emma and Gracie are okay," Katie worried, thinking about her little sister and her dog.

"Emma's tough and I bet Grace will be able to escape your apartment, she's done it before," I told her and she sighed.

"I hope," Katie mumbled as we pulled into the hotel parking lot and I ran over one of the dead people and I quickly parked near the road and a little far from the hotel since it was as close as I could get without getting into the chaos of the walkers.

Walkers milled around the front entrance and entered the hotel, eating and chasing screaming customers and I watched as a walker started walking towards our car.

"We could use the back entrance," I suggested as I saw Katie glance around.

"No, it's locked," Katie answered back.  
"So we have to go through the front?" I asked.

"It's our best bet even with the amount of walkers," Katei sighed.

"Alright, we go through the front entrance, shoot our way to the stairs, hurry up, grab food, weapons, everything, and we'll jump from our window," I explained the plan to Katie.

"We've had worse plans, I'll take out the walker," Katie shrugged.

"On 3, 1, 2, 3!" I shouted and we quickly pulled our guns out and leapt out of the car, shutting the doors behind us as Katie shoot the walker who was wearing a business suit on the head and it collapsed to the ground.

We ran straight into the havoc of the lobby and we quickly fired at the walkers as customers and employees scattered for their cars but sadly some got caught in the arms of the walkers and got bit in the neck.

I quickly shot at a walker who was trying to bite into a little boy's arm and he quickly ran off to find his parents who had abandoned him.

"Come on!" Katie shouted over to me and I followed her into the hallway, walkers following close behind us or wandering off to find more food.

We ran down the long hallway, trying to block out the screams and cries of walker food behind closed doors.

"Ah!" Katie screamed in surprise as a walker with blood around his mouth exited a room and tackled Katie to the ground, making her gun fly down the hallway, near the door to the staircase.

In a few seconds, I shot the walker in the head and helped Katie off of the walker and up as the walkers began to catch up on us.

"Let's go!" I shouted and Katie quickly grabbed our gun as we made it to the door to the staircase and I quickly opened and shut it behind us and we quickly jogged up the stairs.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I-I think so," Katie stammered and I stared at her as we continued up the stairs.

"Did it bite you?" I asked as we reached the 2nd floor.

"No," She shook her head and I could tell she wasn't lying not because she was my best friend but I have a good way of seeing if people are lying including her.

"Okay," I quickly opened the staircase door to hear less screams but some crying.

"Do you have the key?" I asked.

"Of course, it's in my back pocket," Katie nodded and she quickly pulled out the car and swiped it and we quickly entered it.

"We probably don't have a lot of time, let's hurry, I'll change and you gather food," I ordered her and she nodded as she grabbed one of our hiking backpacks and ran into the small kitchen we had and quickly grabbed the snacks that we had in the mini fridge and scattered around the house.

I walked over to where our suitcases were and I quickly tugged off my jacket and unfastened my belt which held all of my ammo and where I held my two Glocks and quickly slipped out of the boot cut jeans and sweater I was in and quickly pulled on some skinny jeans which helped me move a lot faster and harder for people or walkers to grab onto and a dark grey tank top that I used for my morning runs which I sadly won't be able to do anymore. I pulled back on my black combat boots, refastened my dark brown belt, and I pulled on my dark green military jacket which had four pockets on it which I put extra things in like my cell phone, extra magazines, and things like that.

"You change, I'll grab the stuff in the bathroom," I told her and she nodded since she was wearing a pantsuit and dress shoes and I ran into the bathroom with the same hiking backpack that was full of chip bags, two cans of food, and our 4 handguns that we kept near the nightstand just in case.

I ran into the nice hotel bathroom and quickly grabbed soap, shampoo, conditioner, Band-Aids, washcloths, Advil, antiemetics Katie had since she had a little stomach ache two days ago, barbituraries since we both had trouble sleeping, and aspirin. I quickly grabbed one of the black ponytail holders we had and I pulled my long bright red hair into a slick ponytail.

"Ready?" I asked her as I walked out the bathroom, throwing the backpack over my shoulder.

"One sec," She quickly tied her dark brown combat boots and then stood up, pulling up her dark grey skinny jeans and readjusting the straps of her tight black tank top.

"Ready," She quickly nodded and I back up to where I can jump off of one of the two skinny windows and she did the same to the opposite.

"1, 2, 3!" Katie shouted and soon we were soaring in the air in what feels like slow motion and we quickly landed on the asphalt and I landed on top of a walker and I quickly shot it as I heaved myself up.

"Son of a bitch!" Katie shouted as she landed wrong and a loud pop echoed from where I was.

"Katie! Are you okay?" I asked as I ran over to her, not caring that walkers had started lumbering over to us.

"Yeah, just sprained my fucking ankle," Katie mumbled.

"Can you walk?" I asked.

"No," Katie sighed as walkers started walking closer to us.

"Okay, I'll help you," I helped Katie up and she leaned onto my shoulder as we started walking over to the car which was a couple feet away as walkers started lumbering towards us.

It was hard to support Katie since she weighed several more pounds than me since she was a couple inches taller than me and the medication seemed to be weighing down my 5'3" self as well but I knew I needed to suck it up.

"We're not going to make it," Katie mumbled as a walker got to close for comfort and Katie shot it.

"Yes we are! Just a few more rows!" I cursed myself for parking so far from the hotel.

"Goddammit Cassandra! You need to leave without me!" Katie shouted as I shot another walker to our left.

"I'm not leaving with my best friend!" I shouted at her as I shot two more walkers.

"You know that you'll die if we keep going! More and more are coming!" Katie shouted and I sighed since we were 4 rows away from the car and the walkers would catch up with us at one more.

"Here," Katie handed me her 22 Glock and she quickly reloaded her 23 Glock and handed me all but one of her magazines.

"I'm gonna miss you like hell Katie," I whispered with tears in my eyes as I put the gun on my waistband.

"Bye Cass," Katie smiled at me with tears in her eyes as we hugged each other one last time until she started shooting at the walkers, letting go off me and giving me a clear path to the car.

As I hopped into the car, I heard one final gunshot ring out signalizing Katie's death since I know she wouldn't give herself to the walkers and I quickly drove away with tears in my eyes as the walkers devoured my best friend.

**Greetings! Thanks for reading the whole thing without hating it! I don't know too much about guns so if I'm wrong about the Glocks and stuff then please let me know private message or review, I don't care either one! Please favorite, follow, or/and review if you enjoyed it or hated it because it will help me out a lot! Toodles! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! Before I started I wanted to thank all of the people who followed and favorited my story (you know who you are!). Sadly I haven't gotten any reviews so please review me because that would help me lots! Anyways, I hope you enjoy! :)**

"Residents are encourage to evacuate to Atlanta where refugee camps are being set up and the government is moving in. If you can't evacuate then stay in your homes until the CDC finds a cure which they're working hard to find. This message will be broadcasted every 3 minutes or if there's any new update," The radio broadcaster informed me as I drove out of Atlanta along with several other cars.

"Refugee camp my ass," I grumbled, thinking about the small camps scattered around town I saw which could be easily overrun.

I couldn't stop thinking about how I witnessed the death of my best friend Katie. I always knew that one of us would die eventually since with what we do, it's obvious we probably wouldn't die at an old age but I was okay with that. I just never thought that my best friend would just give herself up to those monsters so I could make it out alive and I was pissed at myself for letting her do that.

My light tan fingers gripped the steering wheel as I continued driving, swerving to dodge several walkers when I had to and soon the amount of cars around me grew smaller and smaller as they crashed into walkers or they found their destination while cars heading for Atlanta grew bigger and bigger.

"Idiots. Haven't they watched a zombie movie?" I asked and I decided to listen to some Halestorm instead of the boring radio broadcaster and I hit the CD player and I bounced my head along with the drum beat and I sang along with Lzzy Hale as the song progressed, calming me down a little but I was still focused and the thought of Katie still bugged me nonstop.

"Between love, between hate, shake the silence but it's too late," I sang along to the song as I arrived near the quarry.

I soon found a camp ground that I could probably spend a night or two in and then I could probably head in a small town, gather some more food, a tent, and maybe some more weapons if I'm lucky.

I pulled the Escape into the center of the grounds and I turned the car off, knowing the noise would attract the walkers.

I opened the hiking backpack and I pulled out all of my items to see what I needed to rationalize.

I had 24 bags of chips, half from the hotel room and half from the deli and I figured I could ration them so that they could last about 6 months if I used only 4 chips a month which I could do easily do since I've been lasted a week without food during a mission in the Philippines.

I had two canned items, a can of tuna and a can of peaches which I knew I could save for quite a while but I knew I would need a hunting knife to open the canned food open.

Besides my Glock 22 and 23 and Katie's 22 Glock, I had a Glock 17, a FN Herstal FNP-9, a Beretta 92, and a Glock G-30 which all had not too many bullets but I knew I would be able to last a while with these as long as I don't run into a big group of walkers.

I had a small bottle of shampoo and conditioner which would last me about 8 showers, I had a bar of soap which I knew would last a while from the looks of it, and I had 3 washcloths which is good just in case I get sick or something. I had a full box of Band-Aids which will last me a long time since I don't trip or scrape myself up hard. I had 6 Advil tablets, 9 antiemetic pills, only 3 barbituraries, and a full thing of aspirin which was good.

Sadly, I didn't have any knives or water so I knew I had to get those along with a hunting rifle and a tent so I can hunt and camp.

I checked my military jacket pockets to see if I had anything in it, II had an energy bar on the left top corner, a magazine for my Beretta, my cellphone which had 50% battery in it so I decided to save it, and as I slid my hand into my bottom pocket on my right side, I froze and quickly pulled out what was in there. There were two items in there, a roll of white gauze which I always have but the second one shocked me.

I held a small, gold chain necklace which held in the middle of a small gold dream catcher. The center of it with the strings was shaped liked a little flower and had three little gold metal feathers on the bottom that would move back and forth like a pendulum as it hung in midair but would lay still as it laid across your chest. There was a tiny little gold clasp in the back which was easy to put on but it was nearly impossible for it to fall off which has only happened once. I knew this because it was Katie's necklace that she would always wear even if we were on a mission.

The necklace was her mom's which she gave to Katie before she died of cancer back when we were 17 and Katie felt like it was a part of her mom that she always carried with her. They were incredibly close and sometimes I would get jealous since I never really knew met my real mom that well, just horrible foster parents or orphan workers before I met Hannah, my current foster mom since I was 13.

I guess Katie had slipped it into my pocket while we were trying to make it to the car without me noticing and my eyes watered up thinking about how she knew she was going to die and decided to give me her most prized possession but I quickly blinked back those tears, we had promised each other we wouldn't cry for each other or anyone and I knew I was going to keep my promise.

"I think I'll just settle in for the night," I sighed and I quickly packed everything up again, putting them back where they were before except for the necklace which I hung on my rearview mirror.

"There," I smiled softly at the necklace before I hopped out of the car to make sure everything was secure before I went to sleep which is good since five seconds later, I heard a shrill scream come from the forest.

I ran towards the scream, pulling out my gun and holding it out in front of me.

The scream sounded like it came from a little girl, not a teenager, 9 maybe? But it was still a little girl that needed help and it was my job to protect people.

I soon arrived to the scene to see a little girl trying to climb up at tree but a walker had a grasp on her foot and the girl was wildly trying to shake the walker off of her foot while two more walkers started lumbering towards her since they heard the screams as well.

In less than a second, I shot the walker grabbing the little girl's foot and he fell, bringing the little girl down with her and she shouted in surprise as another walker came near her.

I took action and quickly grabbed the walker heading towards her and shot it in the forehead and then quickly shot the other walker, landing right next to the little girl who was sniffling, scared out of her mind.

"Do you have any injuries?" I asked her as I kneeled beside her.

"N-no," She whimpered, tears streaking down her face.

"Let me see your ankle," I instructed her in my soft voice I use all the time with traumatized children and she quickly showed me her ankle and I didn't see any bites or scratches.

"You got lucky," I told her.

"I-it nearly got me," She whimpered as tears went down her face.

"Hey, no more of that crying. You're safe and those things aren't going to hurt you," I whispered to her softly.

"B-but there're more," She explained.

"You're right but those things won't be able to get to you, okay?" I told her.

"They got my momma though. This morning, I was playing dolls in my room when I heard Momma screaming so I ran to the kitchen to see my daddy biting my momma and I ran," She whispered, scared.

"I know, I lost my momma and my daddy too but am I crying?" I asked her.

"No," She answered.

"That's because I have my brave face on, I don't like it when people see my cry, do you?" I asked her.

"Momma hates it when I cry during my punishments," She answered and I tried not to look shocked as I saw a scar hear her shoulder which I can tell was from beatings because I've experienced them too.

"I'm Cassandra. What's your name?" I asked her.

"Maddy," Maddy answered to me.

"I like your name," I smiled at her.

"I like your name too," She smiled back at my showing her little dimples.

"Well, Maddy, life is going to be hard at times especially right now and you're going to see a lot of death and sadness all around you but all you need to do is look on the bright side and always put on your brave face, especially with me because I don't like it when people cry. Can you do that for me for now?" I asked her.

"B-but that thing nearly killed me," Maddy answered.

"I nearly got killed by that thing too but am I crying?" I asked her.

"No," Maddy answered.

"And you're pretty tough like me right?" I asked.

"Daddy says I'm not," Maddy replied.

"Well, I think you are, so put on your brave face for me, okay?" I asked and Maddy wiped away the tears from her face and smiled at me.

"Much better," I smiled and she smiled back and I looked at her.

The first thing I noticed about Maddy is her little button nose for some odd reason.

"Can I call you Button?" I asked her.

"Why?" She asked.

"Well, I like your cute little nose," I tapped her nose and she giggled.

"Okay!" She smiled, showing off her teeth which had some yellow in them but there wasn't a cavity in sight.

She had light brown hair which was pulled into two braided pigtails that had little leaves on them probably from the tree she was in, she had bright blue eyes that stood out against her black, muddy t-shirt that she wore, and she had light tan skin like me but a little paler than me. She was a little taller than a 9 year old being in between 4'8" and 4'9" and she had a little muscle in her arms and legs from climbing trees and I bet she could probably use a gun if I trained her. She wore a black T-shirt which has mud and some walker blood on it like her light blue jeans and her black sneakers.

"Can I come with you?" Button asked, snapping me out of my inspection of her.

"You mean you want to stay with me?" I asked her.

"Yeah," She mumbled shyly and looked down.

"Sure," I shrugged and she grinned at me.

"Really?" She grinned.

"Of course, but I have to teach you how to use one of these," I held up my hand to show her my gun.

"Why?" She asked.

"Well, I'm not going to always be there to save you so you should know how to defend yourself instead of running," I explained to her.

"Okay, just don't leave me right now, okay?" She asked.

"I promise," I smiled at her and we both got off of the forest floor and I lead her back to my camp.

"Where are we going to sleep?" Button asked.

"In the car," I explained.

"Cool!" Button grinned and I unlocked the car for her to crawl in the passenger seat and I hopped in the driver seat and locked the door.

"Can we play a game?" Button asked.

"Why?" I asked her, raising one of my eyebrows.

"Well, I don't want to fall asleep," Button mumbled.

"Do you get nightmares?" I asked her and she nodded, looking down shyly.

"I do too also," I told her.

"Really?" Button looked at me.

"Even before all of this, I had nightmares," I told her.

"Me too," She whispered and my eyes focused on the necklace on the rearview mirror.

"You know what? Here," I took the necklace off of the rearview mirror and I unclasped it.

"Is that for me?" Button asked.

"Yep, it was my best friend's, now turn around," I told her and she faced her back to me, raising her pigtails in the air and I placed the dream catcher around her neck and fastened it.

"There, now you won't get any bad dreams," I explained to her, smiling.

"Why do you think that?" Button asked.

"Well, it's a dream catcher," I explained.

"What's that?" Button stared at me curiously.

"Well, I think it's story time!" I exclaimed.

"I like stories," Button smiled.

"Well, the story behind dream catchers is that Native Americans believed that the night air is filled with dreams both good and bad. The dream catcher when hung over or near your bed swinging freely in the air, catches the dreams as they flow by. The good dreams know how to pass through the dream catcher, slipping through the outer holes and slide down the soft feathers so gently that many times the sleeper does not know that he/she is dreaming. The bad dreams not knowing the way get tangled in the dream catcher and perish with the first light of the new day, this dream catcher helped my friend sleep every night with good, peaceful dreams so now that'll happen to you," I told the story to her.

"That's cool!" Button grinned and then yawned, stretching her tiny little arms out.

"Do you wanna sleep and we'll play 20 questions tomorrow?" I asked her.

"20 questions?" Button asked.

"Yeah, you ask 20 questions to each other, each of us taking turns, and if a question is too personal, they can say 'pass' and the person will have to ask another question. Sound good?" I asked her but all I heard was silence.

"Button?" I turned from my position to see little Button curled up in her seat, fast asleep.

"Night Button," I murmured softly and I soon followed her into the world of sleep.

**Hello again! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and also liked little Maddy "Button". Should I keep that nickname or ditch it? As I was writing this chapter, the nickname just felt weird to me and I'm curious what you guys think so review what you think and if you enjoyed this chapter which I hope you do! :) Toodles!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sadly I don't own The Walking Dead. **

The next morning, Maddy and I continued to talk and after a little, Maddy stopped being the shy girl she was last night and became more talkative than she was last night and we talked about random little things as we munched on our breakfast of cracked pepper chips and afterwards, we had a few minutes of silence which actually felt nice instead of really awkward.

"Can we play that game now?" Maddy asked after a few minutes of silence.

"20 Questions?" I asked.

"Yep!" Maddy smiled.

"Okay, I'll go first. How old are you?" I asked.

"I'm nine," She answered.

"Okay, now it's your turn," I told her.

"Why is your hair so bright?" Maddy asked and I chuckled.

"That's what you want to ask?" I asked.

"Yep," She smiled at me.

"Well, it used to be sandy blonde but I dyed my hair this color when I was in high school," I explained, brushing my fingers through my tangled mess I get when I sleep.

"I wish I could dye my hair," She commented.

"My turn. What's your favorite color?" I asked.

"Sky blue because I like looking at the sky and looking at the clouds," She answered as she stared in the sky.

"Interesting," I nodded.

"What's _your_ favorite color?" Maddy asked.

"My favorite is blue as well but I prefer more of a Caribbean blue," I told her.

"What's that?" Maddy asked.

"It's more of a teal color but a hell lot prettier, I'd show you if I could," I told her and she nodded.

"I don't mind when you cuss by the way, my parents used to say a lot of cuss words all the time," Maddy told me.

"Have you been repeating them?" I asked her.

"Maybe," She mumbled.

"Eh, don't matter to me but it might to some others so watch what you say, okay?" I told her.

"Yes mam!" She smiled and gave me a salute and I gave one right back at her.

"Alright, I think we should return back to 20 questions after I teach you to shoot, okay?" I told her.

"Okay, what're we going to do?" Maddy asked.

"I'm going to teach you how to use these five guns," I pulled out all of the four guns in the backpack and Katie's gun.

"What about your two guns?" Maddy asked, pointing at the guns in my two holsters.

"Those are me to use plus this one is exactly like this one," I pointed at Katie's Glock 22 and then pointed at my Glock 22.  
"Can I use this one?" She pointed at the Glock 22.

"Yes but we'll see which one out of these five you like the best and can aim better with so come on," I unlocked the car, grabbed the five guns, and walked over to a spot found that would be a perfect place for Maddy to shoot from the target I had and waited for Maddy to come over here.

"Stand where I am," I moved to the side for Maddy to stand where I was standing.

"Here?" Maddy looked up at me.

"Perfect, now I'm going to teach you how to handle a gun, starting with this one," I handed her the Beretta.

"This is heavy," Maddy commented.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," I told her and she nodded.

"Don't be afraid of it okay? It's just a little thing," I told her, remembering how several kids I taught used to be scared of guns.

"Why would I be scared of this? It's not like it'll eat me," Maddy looked at me, confused.

"During my job, I sometimes had to teach kids how to shoot guns and they'd be a little scared of it," I explained.

"What did you do?" She asked.

"I was a CIA agent," I explained.

"Like in the movies?" She asked, excited.

"Kind of but don't tell anyone, okay?" I asked.

"You can count on me!" She smiled.

"Alright, I'll be right back, just wait right there," I told her and I walked back to the Ford Escape and grabbed the roll of gauze and the box of Band-Aids and walked towards the tree a few footsteps away from Katie and in about 2 minutes, I had the box of Band-Aids hanging in the air by a little part of the gauze and I backed up to look at it and made sure that it was about where a normal man's head would be positioned.

"See the box?" I asked her.

"Duh," She answered and I gave her a look.

"Sorry," She mumbled and I chuckled.

"I'm going to make you shoot only one bullet from each gun and then we'll improve your aim from there if it needs help and then I'll let you pick your favorite gun to keep with at _all times_, do not let anyone take your gun with you. Now these days, it's like taking away you chances of surviving," I told her and she nodded.

"Okay, are you sure this'll work?" She asked.

"I was taught to shoot a gun like that and look where I am now," I told her.

"Who taught you?" Maddy asked.

"One of my foster dads, Darren, he was a retired cop and he used to take me out to the woods to shoot. I lived with him until he died on cancer when I was 11," I explained to her.

"How long were you with him?" She asked, ignoring the mention of a foster dad.

"I was with him when I was your age so about 2 years," I told her.

"So he did it exactly like this?" She asked.

"Not exactly, he would hook a fish and tie a fishing pole around the trunk of the tree with some duck tape, we also fished and sometimes with our bare hands," I told her.

"Cool!" She exclaimed.

"I can teach you how if we find a lake or something," I told her and she grinned.

"But for now, let's teach you how to shoot," I told her and she put her serious face back on.

"Okay," She nodded.

"Now first things first, hold the gun like you think you'll hold it," I told her and she held the gun perfectly, except she put her pointer finger on the trigger.

"Perfect except never put your finger on the trigger unless you want to hurt someone okay?" I explained to her as I placed her finger where it should be.

"Okay," She nodded and I began to continue.

"To aim, right down the top through the notch see?" I pointed the place at her and she nodded.

"Now line it up with your target," I told her and she aimed for the box, automatically locking her elbows.

"Don't lock your elbows okay?" I told her and she readjusted herself.

"Now squeeze the trigger smoothly okay?" I muffled her ears and waited for her to fire.

_Bang!_ The gunshot rang as the bullet grazed through the gauze and a little more to the left than the target.

"Oops," Maddy muttered.

"Don't worry, you should've seen me my first time I used a gun, just aim lower and more to the right," I told her and we went back to the same position once she was ready.

_Bang!_ The bullet hit the box right on the dot of the 'i'.

"I did it!" Maddy squealed, excited.

"Nice! Now let's do it with the other 4 guns and don't forget to not lock your elbows, it's a common but deadly mistake," I told her and she nodded and I quickly handed her the Glock 22.

About half an hour later, Maddy had aimed the box with all of the guns, only wasting 5 bullets besides the 2 that she wasted with the Beretta.

"You're an awesome shot!" I exclaimed and she smiled.

"I'm pretty observant and I can see really far away," She shrugged.

"Alright, you pick the gun you want," I pointed at the guns laid out for her.

"I want this one, that one felt a lot easier to carry and to aim than the rest," Maddy picked up Katie's Glock 22 that she didn't waste a single bullet on and I smiled softly, thinking about Katie.

"Now we have the same gun," I pulled out my Glock 22 and she grinned.

"Gun twins!" She exclaimed and I chuckled when I heard the groan of a walker.

We both turned around to see a walker stumbling towards us on the other side of our camp.

"Cass!" Maddy whimpered, gripping my hand.

"I should've known that this would attract walkers," I mumbled as it limped a little closer to us, still pretty far from us.

"Maddy, I want you to shoot it," I instructed her.

"What?" She looked at me like I was crazy.

"That's why we practiced so you can use a gun to defend yourself against these things so I want to see if you can do it," I told her.

"O-okay," She murmured, holding her gun up with her arms shaking.

"I'll be here if you miss," I told her.

"Alright," She sighed and the walker was just a few feet away from us.

"Don't lock your elbows," I told her.

_Bang! _The walker crumpled to the ground as Maddy shot it in the eye.

"I hit it in the eye," Maddy murmured, disappointed.

"That's fine, as long as you aim for the head. Good job," I smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Now let's hope those Band-Aids are too bad," I murmured as I got the Band-Aids down and I left the bullet filled gauze there since we had more left and I turned to face Maddy.

"How about we continue 20 questions?" I asked her when suddenly explosions echoed from where Atlanta was and I quickly whipped around to see Atlanta being destroyed by government helicopters.

"Oh my gosh," Maddy whispered and she clung to me like a koala bear as we both stared at the explosions happening.

**Hello everyone! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning after the bombing, Maddy and I ate our breakfast of dill pickle chips in silence and it wasn't until maybe an hour later did Maddy start to talk.

"Would Katie have liked me?" Maddy asked out loud.

"Does this count as a 20 questions?" I asked her.

"Yeah," She mumbled.

"She would've adored you, probably took you in as her own daughter which makes since because you two are a lot alike," I told her and she smiled.

"We are?" She asked.

"Like two peas in a pod except she wasn't as shy as you but besides that you guys have a lot in common," I replied and she smiled.

"Cool!" Maddy grinned and I smiled back.

"Were you two like peas in a pod?" Maddy asked.

"Oh, it's my turn but yes we were and that doesn't count," I told her and she looked relieved.

"What grade were you in before all of this?" I asked.

"4th grade, it was pretty easy," Maddy shrugged and I smiled.

"4th grade was easy for me too," I told her and she smiled.

"What was your favorite subject at school?" Maddy asked me.

"English was my favorite, math was definitely my least favorite," I answered.

"I like science the best but I hate math too," Maddy wrinkled her nose at math and I laughed.

"What's your favorite food?" I asked.

"Peaches," She answered instantly.

"Why peaches?" I asked.

"Because whenever my parents were drunk or were trying to look for me, I'd go into the woods and to the trees and one day I found a peach tree and I ate a peach," She replied.

"Do you think you can show me where this peach tree is?" I asked her, thinking how this might help us with supplies.

"Yeah!" She grinned.

"How about we go visit it right now?" I asked her.

"Sure! It's close to my house too!" She smiled.

"Do you think it's okay to visit your house as well? Maybe get you some new clothes?" I asked her and she looked down.

"What if my momma's still there and my daddy?" Maddy asked.

"Then I'll protect you from them, whatever it takes," I reassured her and she nodded.

"Plus you taught me how to protect myself, just in case," She smiled and I nodded.

"Yep, now let's go get some peaches," I told her and we hopped out of the car and I quickly locked it.

"How far is your house?" I asked her.

"I'm not sure but I know it's that way," She pointed to where I first met her and I nodded.

"Okay, let's go," I told her and I grabbed her hand and we began our trek to her home.

20 minutes later, we arrived at a small rundown shack and Maddy stopped me.

"That's where I live," Maddy pointed at the shack.

"It's pretty," I lied, not wanting to hurt her feelings.

"Sometimes," Maddy sighed and started to walk towards the front door but I stopped her.

"Wait," I told her.

"What?" She looked at me curiously.

"We need to see if your parents are still in there," I told her and she nodded.

"Okay," She agreed and I walked over to a small window which when you looked in, you saw a dimly lit living room which pretty small. From what I could tell, it had a small box TV that stood on a falling apart chair, there was a rocking chair, a small fireplace, some bottles of moonshine sitting right next to the rocking chair, and a bunch of garbage scattered around. The 70s wallpaper was peeling and the white carpet looked like a lot of moonshine was spilt and someone peed in there a couple times.

"I'm going to bang this window for a couple minutes, listen, and then bang it again. If any walkers come to the window, let me know because I'll be keeping watch near the tree line. Got it?" I told her and she nodded.

"Okay," She smiled and then I began banging the window.

_Bang! Bang! Bang! _A long pause. _Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! _A long pause.

"Anything?" I asked.

"Nope," She replied as I scanned the trees.

"Well, I think your parents are gone," I told her and she giggled.

"What's so funny?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Look behind you," She grinned and I turned around and jumped a little as I saw a man making silly faces at Maddy and me.

**Hello! Short chapter huh? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did please favorite, follow, or/and review it! Thanks for reading! Toodles! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

The guy making silly faces at Maddy was just as surprised as me when we saw each other and I inspected him.

He was a Korean man with black hair and dark brown eyes that had the glimmer of surprise I had earlier, he looked about in his mid-20s and probably just out of college, maybe. He wore a baseball cap, a dark brown t-shirt, and a pair of jeans.

I waved at him and he waved back after realizing I was friendly.

I indicated to him that I was going to go in since he probably couldn't hear me and he nodded, understanding and I quickly headed up to the front door with Maddy in tow.

"Hi!" The boy greeted us as he walked into the living room where we were standing.

"Hi!" Maddy greeted back.

"Hey," I smiled at him, realizing all he had was a crowbar and a backpack with supplies.

"I'm Glenn Rhee by the way," He smiled as he held out his hand.

"I'm Cassandra Olivers," I shook his hand.

"Is this your daughter?" Glenn looked at Maddy and I chuckled.

"Nope, this is Maddy, she used to live here and we were hunting for supplies. Have you seen any walkers here?" I asked him.

"Just a dead body of a woma-," He started and realized what he was saying and became quiet again.

"It's okay," Maddy looked down.

"Sorry but that's all I saw, except for some supplies I'm getting for my group," Glenn explained.

"That's cool, we were here for supplies ourselves and some clothes," I indicated to my bag.

"Oh! I'm sorry! Do you want to split some?" He offered.

"No, it's fine but I could help your group," I offered.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yeah, I have a car about 20 minutes from here, some supplies, and we're both pretty good shots with guns," I shrugged.

"I'm not sure Shane would want you two carrying guns but besides that, you guys would be great!" He grinned.

"Well Shane sounds like a douchebag so screw him!" I shrugged and Glenn chuckled.

"He isn't too bad but he can be a douchebag," He shrugged.

"So do you say? Can I join you?" I asked.

"You're okay with me!" Glenn smiled.

"Yay!" Maddy grinned and Glenn smiled right back at her.

"I'm just going to grab some stuff from the closets," I told him and he nodded.

"Sounds good, I'll just wait out here," Glenn nodded.

"Now where was your room?" I asked her.

"Right down this hallway," Maddy led me to a hallway in the kitchen and quickly turned left to see her bedroom.

It was probably the neatest room in the whole shack with a made bed, clothes tucked in a small dresser. The only thing messy was that there were some shoes and two old Cabbage Patch Kids were scattered around the room.

"Okay, grab a new shirt, jeans or capris, some tennis shoes, and a winter coat, we need to think of the future," I told her and she nodded.

She quickly grabbed a sky blue T-shirt with a pink flower on the center, some muddy and torn up jeans, some new looking shoes with some dirt in them, and a torn up but wearable winter coat.

"Okay, change into those quickly and we'll be out of here," I told her.

"I bet some of Momma's clothes will fit you," Maddy told me as she took off her muddy and bloody clothes and changed into her new clothes.

"I'm content with this," I told her and she nodded.

"Okay," She smiled and soon she was finished changing.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"Okay," Maddy smiled and she gave one glance at her room before we both went into the living room where Glenn was.

"Are you going to change?" Glenn asked.

"Nope, this is what I wear," I nodded.

"Well, it's kind of hot," He explained.

"I've been in worse," I told him.

"Really?" Glenn asked.

"She was a CIA agent!" Maddy exclaimed and I gave her a look.

"I thought I could count on you," I looked at her.

"Oops," Maddy mumbled and blushed.

"You are?" Glenn asked surprised.

"Yep for about 18 years," I sighed.

"So are you in with the government?" He asked.

"If I was, I'd be sipping tea with the Prime Minister in a secluded island," I scoffed.

"Do you know what's happening?" Glenn asked.

"No a clue except it was happening down in Chile a week before this happened, I was there with my team over a drug cartel. Only two of us made it out," I explained.

"I'm sorry," Glenn apologized.

"The thing about being an agent is you go through a lot of shit and death and you have to keep moving for the sake of people like Maddy and you," I sighed.

"Well, are you ready to go?" Glenn asked.

"Do you still want to head to the peach tree?" I asked Maddy.

"Yeah!" She exclaimed.

"There's a peach tree?" Glenn asked.

"Yeah," She answered quietly, shy like she usually is.

"Let's go check it out, first one there wins!" Glenn told her and they started to head to the front door and yanked it open to come face to face with a walker.

_Bang!_ I quickly pulled out my gun and fired at the walker, missing Glenn by a good two inches and it tumbled to the ground.

"Be more careful next time," I told them and Maddy casually nodded as Glenn stared at me.

"You're a good shot," Glenn complimented me.

"What good would I be if I wasn't a good shot in more than 18 years, I also know how to shoot every other gun and a crossbow," I shrugged.

"Crossbow?" Glenn asked.

"Yeah, is there a problem?" I asked.

"Oh no! I just only know one guy who does that, his name is Daryl," Glenn explained.

"Hmm," I nodded.

"He usually hunts a lot for our group with his older brother, Merle, he usually doesn't talk to everyone that much. He's kind of scary but his brother's a different story," Glenn told me.

"He could've came from a bad family like me, I don't like talking to people that much," Maddy offered.

"You're pretty smart," Glenn complimented her.

"Thanks," Maddy smiled.

"Let's head to the peach tree and then we can show you our camp," I told him and he nodded.

"Sounds good!" He smiled and I nodded.

"Lead the way Maddy," I told her and she quickly ran off to a different direction from where we came from.

"Are you worried about her bumping into a walker?" Glenn asked as we followed her footprints.

"Nope, I taught her how to use a gun, the only reason I shot the walker before her was because I have faster reflexes from years of handling these suckers," I held out my Glock 22 and 23.

"You have 3 guns?" He asked.

"5 not counting mine," I told him.  
"It's pretty hard to find guns these days," Glenn told me.

"Well, Katie and I had 2 guns on us at all times and then the rest would be hidden in the house," I shrugged.

"Who's Katie?" Glenn asked and I paused a little.

"Cass?" Glenn asked me and I snapped out of my state.

"Cass?" I asked him.

"It's easier to say than Cassandra," He shrugged and I chuckled.

"Katie was my partner in the agency and my best friend since middle school. She died yesterday so I could escape," I explained, looking down.

"I'm sorry I mentioned it," Glenn sighed.

"It's alright, we both knew one of us would die eventually, just not like that," I shrugged.

"None of expected this," Glenn replied.

"The unexpected becomes quite expected now these days, I never thought I'd be taking care of a kid," I chuckled.

"Why not?" Glenn asked.

"I'd rather not dwell about that," I replied and he nodded.  
"Okay," He replied and soon we found Katie right in front of a big peach tree.

"We're here!" Maddy smiled.

"Damn, I mean-," Glenn quickly stammered.

"It's okay! I'm used to it," She shrugged, her braids bouncing a little while I chuckled.

"That's one tall tree for a peach tree," Glenn commented.

"Do you think you can grab some peaches while climbing?" I asked her.

"I do it all the time!" She exclaimed.

"Alright, grab as many as you can while climbing, don't overdo yourself," I told her.

"Got it!" She exclaimed and she quickly began climbing the tree like a spider monkey.

"She's a good climber," Glenn complimented.

"That'll save her life a lot," I noted.

"I honestly never expected to be talking to a pretty CIA agent under a peach tree hoping a kid won't fall off this huge tree during a zombie apocalypse," Glenn sighed.

"Did you just call me pretty?" I asked him.

"Oh! Um," Glenn blushed.

"I'm 36 by the way," I told him.

"Really?" He asked, surprised.

"Yep, how old are you? I'm guessing 24," I guessed.

"Correct! You're good at this. You honestly look like you're 27," Glenn complimented.

"So you like older women?" I chuckled at his blushing face.

"No! I prefer good-looking women," He explained and then paused as I fell into full out laughter.

"What's so funny?" Maddy asked from near the top.

"Nothing honey! Just get the peaches," I told her.

"Savor this moment because I don't laugh like that too much, it's usually a snicker or giggle and those are now and then," I told him.

"Alright," Glenn nodded and we fell into an awkward silence.

"I think we're going to be good friends," I commented.

"I do too, sorry about the flirting," Glenn mumbled.

"It's fine, I get a lot of flirting and believe you're actually a good one or else I would've knocked you out cold in a single blow," I told him.

"That's good, I guess," Glenn shrugged and I snickered.

"I got the peaches!" Maddy announced as she crawled back down and in her hands, she held 8 peaches in her hands and was grinning happily at us.

"There were only 2 other peaches left but I couldn't reach them," Maddy explained as she set the peaches in our backpack.

"It's cool, let's head back to the car," I told her.

"You have a car?" Glenn asked as we started walking back.

"How do you think we got here? On a flying unicorn?" I asked and Maddy giggled.

"No it's just, I'm glad I don't have to walk back to camp," Glenn explained.

"You're going to have to show me where your camp is by the way," I told him.

"It's actually not far from here, Shane told me to go check the nearby shacks if there are any supplies or survivors," Glenn shrugged.

"By yourself?" I asked.

"I'm pretty fast," He shrugged.

"He totally sounds like a douchebag, I'm going to have fun with this man," I grinned evilly.

"What're you going to do?" Glenn asked.

"Oh, just not listen to his rules, do stuff to piss him off but still have valuable things to him like keys to our car, food, and a good shot plus who'd kick me out with her," I held Maddy close to me and she smiled.

"You two sure act like mother and daughter," Glenn shrugged.

"Well, she saved my life," Maddy explained and we were at the car before Glenn could ask how.

"Ta da!" Maddy exclaimed and Glenn chuckled.

"That's a nice car," Glenn complimented.

"Well, you won't be able to drive it. Rule 90: Never let anyone besides the agent drive," I told him.

"You have rules?" Glenn asked.

"Rules as a CIA agent which are pretty useful for today," I told him as I hopped into the driver seat, Glenn got in the passenger, and Maddy crawled in the backseat.

"You'll have to teach me them," Glenn told me.

"Sure but first let's head to your camp," I told him.

"Alright," He smiled and gave me instructions as we headed to his group.

**Aloha! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will continue reading this! Please favorite, follow, and/or review this story if this is true for you! Thanks again! Toodles! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

"So you were in Atlanta when all of this happened?" Glenn asked as I continued driving.

"Yep," I nodded.

"That must've been tough to get out of," Glenn told me and I smiled.

"It took a lot of thinking, shooting, and last minute decisions," I told him.

"Like when you were an agent?" Glenn asked.

"Yep, you use your brain, experiences, and knowledge for every situation, every little thing counts like the fact that you're a pizza boy and know your way around Atlanta pretty well," I shrugged.

"Yeah but it's not as cool as your job," Glenn shrugged.

"Yeah but I don't what I would do without a pizza boy," I told him and he laughed.

"Turn left now and we're here!" Glenn instructed and soon we pulled up right next to an RV where a man who was in his elderly age was sitting on top of it, keeping watch.

"Smart idea, keeping someone on watch," I told him and he nodded.

"It was Shane's idea really," He shrugged.

"So he's a douchebag with brains?" I asked as we hopped out of the car and I threw my backpack over my shoulder and Glenn did the same with his.

"And the looks," He explained.

"Those are the worst," I groaned as we arrived at the campgrounds where several people were walking towards us.

"Who's this, Glenn?" A man who I instantly realized was the leader just by the way he talked and held himself and I bet all of my supplies that he's Shane the douchebag. He had dark brown hair, tall, has a bit of muscles, and a little tan and I can feel his dark brown eyes scanning me like a cop would so he must be local enforcement.

"This is Cassandra and Maddy, I ran into them during the run and they wanted to join," I simply nodded at probably Shane the douchebag and Maddy smiled and waved at everyone which brought a small smile to several people's faces including the man on watch who was inspecting us closely now.

I quickly took a glance around the camp while Glenn talked to the leader.

About 13 people were kind of hanging back, minding their own business but still listening in and I assumed that they were just here for the ride while the people in front of me seemed a bit more involved and interested so I focused mainly on them.

I saw 3 families, one with a mother and a little boy a few years older than Maddy, one with a mother, a little girl also a few years older than Maddy, and a father who was gripping on the mother's arm tightly and I thought I saw a bruise or two which I knew was going to change soon, and then a family of four with a little girl and boy about Maddy's age, and the parents.

Nearby were two blonde girls who I assumed were sisters from how much alike they looked even though one looked a lot older than the other, at least 10 years.

There were three people who stood alone but were still looked involved, two men and a woman. The woman was in her late 40s I was guessing and had her frizzy dark hair in a bun. One was a stocky black man in his mid-30s from what I can tell and the other was a thinner man in his mid-40s.

"She actually saved my life and could be a big benefit!" Glenn explained.

"She did?" Leader looked at me with his eyebrows raised.

"He yanked the front door open and a walker was on the other side so I quickly shot it before it bit him, anyone would do that," I simply shrugged nonchalantly as I leaned my body on one foot.

"It was really quick too! Like she was a western sheriff or something!" Glenn exclaimed and I saw the kids' eyes light up a little.

"Really?" Leader raised an eyebrow up and glanced at me.

"Not a big deal really, anyone can do that with practice," I shrugged.

"Think maybe you can wash the laundry and cook?" Leader asked and I scoffed.

"Only if you want burnt food, I'm not going to be a housemaid who gossips and shit while all of this happens," I replied.

"Why not?" Leader asked.

"That's a pretty horrible decision, sexist or not. You have a good shot right here and you're going to throw her into the laundry duty?" I asked.

"Cocky much?" I heard the mom with the boy mumble and I looked at her.

"I think more than 20 years of gun training gives me the right to say I'm a good shot. I can shoot any handgun you hand me, an assault rifle, hunting rifle, and I've shot a crossbow a couple times," I snapped at her and she looked away, embarrassed for being called out.

"All I'm saying is that any one of these women can be quite valuable on runs if you let them," I shrugged as I turned back to the leader and I saw the older blonde nod with what I was saying.

"You listen-," Leader growled.

"I find her really valuable to the group. She was able to escape Atlanta with two guns, a car, and her brain so we know she's a good survivor, she saved my life without even thinking so we know she's not as bad as Merle or Daryl, she has tons of supplies which we really need, plus she has the kid with her," Glenn cut in before it got ugly and glanced around the group for support.  
"Yeah! If she leaves, I leave!" Maddy exclaimed.

"She'll be pretty valuable for the group, Shane," The man on top of the RV told Shane, making my guess on him correct and I nodded a thanks to him and he smiled at me.

"I bet Merle and Daryl could use an extra hunter," The tall man near the back inputted.

"What about us?" I heard someone call out and I turned to see two men walk out of the woods with squirrels in their hands.

"Hello there red! Nice piece of ass you got there, mind if I have some?" The older man asked and I raised an eyebrow at him.

He looked in his late 50s with a little bit of a scruffy beard and grey hair, his hungry blue eyes were scanning my body but mainly staying on my boobs which made me grit my teeth. He looked pretty muscular like he was in the military but I knew I could definitely take him without thinking even if he had that hunting rifle of his aimed at me and firing which he wasn't doing but still.

"How about you shut up, Merle?" The younger blonde of the sisters snapped and I looked at her and she gave me a quick nod.  
"What're you going to do about it sugar tits?" Merle asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Is that really how you flirt with women?" I asked and the younger one snorted and I took a quick glance at him.

He looked about my age with short, light brown hair with Caribbean blue eyes that I couldn't stop staring at for quite a while, he had a bit of a scuff which looked quite attractive on him, he was very tan and rugged, and his arms would make any woman faint, well, except for me. He was quite attractive and looked less of an asshole than his dear older brother.

"I may not be the best at flirting but I can show you a real good time," Merle smirked as he walked closer to me and I pulled my gun out, turned off the safety, and pointed it at his leg and several people backed up like the mom and the little boy while people like Shane and Dale watched to see how this would turn out.

"Do you know how to shoot that thing little lady?" Merle asked.

"Merle, shut up!" The younger one snapped and my eyes landed on a bird, sitting not too far from Merle and the attractive man.

In half a second, I quickly changed targets from Merle's leg to the bird and fired while the two brother scattered and the bird collapsed to the ground, dead.

"Yes, yes I can," I told them as they stood back up.

"Nice shooting skills," Shane nodded.

"She could've killed me with that thing!" Merle exclaimed.

"I wasn't trying to kill you dumbass, just trying to prove my point as you can see and more dinner, I think I deserve a thank you," I bowed mockingly and the younger brother snorted again.

"Shut up, Darylina," Merle growled at the man who I kept note that his name is Daryl.

"Anyways, I think I can be useful with a gun, not a bucket or a pan as long as you don't want food poisoning," I turned around and told Shane.

"She has my vote," The older blonde lady told Shane and I smiled at her.

"She has mine as well if we're doing that," The younger blonde smiled at me and I smiled back.

"Anyone else?" Shane asked and everyone else raised their hands except for the one family with the little girl and the two brothers.

"Well, I guess that settles it, welcome to the group, please don't try to do anything like that again," Shane instructed.

"Yay!" Maddy cheered.

"You totally can't count on me," I told him.

"Daryl! Merle! Meet your new hunter," Shane told them and Merle stormed over to us.

"We don't need any help from some lil' bitch who nearly killed," Merle commented and in just a second, I turned around and stared at him dead in his eyes.

"Wanna see what this lil' bitch can do?" I snapped, my anger rising.

"Let's see," Merle smirked back.

"You two stop it," Shane ordered us.

"Not until this girl learns that she's too small to be part of the big bad hunters," Merle answered.

"Stand back, Maddy," I told Maddy and I heard her walk over to the older man and then I flew a punch at Merle's nose which sounded with a loud crack and Merle howled in pain.

"Daryl, a little help?" Merle asked.

"Ye brought this one yerself, I wanna see how this plays out," Daryl leaned up against a tree to watch the fight while a lot of other people were backing up with the exception of Shane.

"Well, it looks like I'm gonna have to take ya down myself!" Merle shouted before he charged at me.

I quickly jumped to the side and tripped Merle so he would fall and as he collapsed on the ground, I kicked his arm making him yelp in pain.

"Not so tough huh?" I hissed and he tried to grab my ankle to bring me down but I stomped on it, making a loud pop as he howled in agony again.

"Has he ever lost a fight?" I glanced at Daryl.

"Not that I've seen," Daryl shrugged.

"Well, take a photo, he's about to lose his first fight," I told him as I grab his arm and quickly dislocated it.

"Son of a bitch!" Merle hollered.

"Are you done yet?" I asked.

"I ain't gonna lose to you," Merle shouted as he tripped me and I landed on my back and he quickly brought himself up and tried to do what I did but I moved too quickly for him to move and I quickly kicked him in the nuts and as he howled in pain, I quickly picked myself up and knocked him to the ground and I grabbed his other arm, ready to dislocate.

"Jesus Christ!" Merle yowled.

"Stop! Don't dislocate his other arm, we need him for hunting," Shane ordered and knowing I'd be kicked out if I continued, I let go of his arm and I leaned down to look him in the eyes.

"Don't fuck with me or Maddy, got it?" I asked him.

"Fuck you," Merle mumbled and I straightened myself out and looked at Daryl.

"Sorry about that, no hard feelings?" I asked.

"He was askin for it," Daryl shrugged.

"I'm glad you see it my way," I told him and he shrugged.

"You just find her hot, Daryl," Merle mumbled as he picked himself up.

"Shut up Merle! Let's go skin these squirrels," Daryl snapped.

"Oh! Baby brother's thinkin that he can boss me around because I have a dislocated arm," Merle chuckled and I kicked him in the back of the knee, making him collapse.

"You bitch!" Merle cursed.

"I try," I smiled at him and I heard some of the women chuckle.

"How about you meet the rest of the group? It looks like your kid already has," Shane pointed at little Maddy who was chatting with the little girl with short blonde hair I noticed earlier.

"She's not my kid, I met her when this all started," I explained to him.

"Oh," Shane nodded.

"Hi! Nice fighting skills you got there, that asshole deserves it," The two blonde sisters walked over to me and the younger one smiled at me while the older one talked.

"I'm going to have fun working with them," I mumbled.

"You could just do what most of the women do," The younger one suggested.

"No way, if having to hunt with those boys means that I'm not doing any cooking or cleaning, I'll take it," I told them.

"I'm Andrea by the way, this is my sister Amy," The older blonde introduced herself and her sister.

"Sisters I'm guessing?" I asked.

"Yep!" Amy smiled.

"Your little girl is so cute," Amy complimented at Maddy who was now chatting with the elderly man.

"She's actually not my daughter," I told them.

"Really? You two seem pretty close," Andrea looked surprised.

"I met her when all of this started happening actually, I saved her life and we've been together ever since," I shrugged.

"Does she know how to shoot that gun?" Andrea asked, glancing at Maddy's Glock that was in Maddy's back pocket.

"Yep, taught her myself," I replied.

"I bet a lot of kids will be begging you to teach them to shoot, especially that one," Amy pointed at the little boy who dark brown hair who stood next to the woman who mumbled about me being cocky.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"That's Carl and his mom Lori, his dad was in a coma before all of this happened I heard, and now Carl wants to be a big kid and be the man of the house but his mom Lori won't let him," Andrea told me and I thought about how Katie was stuck in a coma for 2 weeks before she woke up due to an accident in France and how rough it was.

"Well, Lori needs to realize that her son needs to grow up to survive, she's not always going to be there for him. That's why I taught Maddy how to shoot, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to her," I sighed.

"Are you sure you two are mom and daughter?" Andrea asked surprised.

"No, I just have a soft side for children really," I shrugged.

"You don't look like someone who has a soft side for kids when you were beating Merle to the ground," Amy noted.

"Don't judge a book by its cover I say, an abandoned, rundown warehouse can hold the biggest drug cartel in the world," I shrugged.

"That's an odd comparison," Andrea told me.

"It's just what I say," I told them.

"Want to meet the rest of the group?" Amy asked.

"Of course," I told them and they led me towards the group.

**I honestly think this is my worst chapter for this story so I hope you didn't hate reading this chapter! Thanks for reading! Toodles! :) **


	7. Chapter 7

"Cass!" Maddy bumrushed me into a hug as I walked with Amy and Andrea over to the rest of the group.

"Hey Button," I smiled at her.

"You must be Maddy's mom, I'm Lori," The woman who I told off held out her hand and I shook it.

"I'm actually not Maddy's mom but I'm Cassandra," I told them and Lori frowned, making the connection.

"Oh, I'm sorry," She looked down at Maddy full of sympathy.

"It's okay," Maddy murmured.

"Well, I'm Dale, Ms. Maddy has been talking nonstop about you and telling us some pretty exclusive information," The man who was on the RV shook my hand.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Well that your favorite color is Caribbean blue which I have to agree is a marvelous color," Dale answered and I chuckled.

"That is some pretty exclusive info but I trust Maddy to place it in the right hands," I told him and he chuckled.

"I'm T-Dog," T-Dog smiled as we shook hands.

"I'm guessing Douglas is part of your name?" I asked.

"How did you know?" T-Dog asked, surprised.

"One of my co-workers name was Douglas but he always made me call him 'Dog'," I explained and he nodded.

"What did you do before all of this?" Dale asked.

"I was a CIA agent and no, I have no idea what's going on. I'm as clueless as you about all of this," I explained.

"That's so cool! Did you go on missions?" Carl asked and I smiled.

"All the time, I'll have to tell you some stories," I winked at him and he grinned.

"I think you're going to have to tell us all," Dale commented.

"As long as they're kid friendly," Lori inputted and I mentally rolled my eyes.

"I'm Jim," The man in his late-40's man smiled and we shook hands.

"Nice to meet you," I smiled at him.

"I'm Jacqui," The woman with frizzy hair introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you," I smiled at her.

"I'm Morales and this is my wife, Miranda, and our kids Eliza and Louis," The father of the other family shook hands with me and I grinned at the kids.

"How're you guys?" I asked.

"We're well!" They chorused and I smiled as I noticed one of the families was missing from the introductions.

"Where's the other family?" I glanced around the camp grounds looking for them.

"That's Ed, Carol, and Sophia, they were in the highway with us when they bombed Atlanta, I'd advise you to stay away from Ed but seeing how you beat the shoot out of them, I think you'll be fine," Lori pointed at the family and I instantly disliked Ed the moment I looked at him and I gave Carol and Sophia a small smile. They looked like they wanted to come talk to us but I saw Ed was making them stay close to him.

"So what were you doing down here before all of this?" Morales asked.

"My co-worker and I came down here on break," I answered.

"So what happened to your co-worker if you don't mind me asking," Andrea asked and I flinched.

"How everyone else died when this all happened, sacrificed herself so that I could get out of Atlanta," I told her.

"I'm sorry for your loss," I looked up and smiled at Dale.

"It's fine, we all have had our losses in this hell," I sighed and he nodded.

"So how about those Giants?" T-Dog asked and we all chuckled and we began discussing about random things in the past, giving a couple laughs and such.

"Alright everyone, back to your duties! Cassandra, do you mind taking care of the kids?" Shane ordered and looked at me.

"Sure, I guess," I shrugged and he nodded as he walked away to do whatever he does but not before stealing a glance to Lori which was unnoticeable to everyone but Lori and me.

"Well, I'm off to cooking, hopefully I won't poison anyone," Andrea joked and I smiled.

"You're a better cook than me! I lit a box of instant noodles on fire," I joked and the group chuckled.

"You seriously have?" T-Dog asked.

"Yeah, no one ever let go of that," I commented.

"Well, I need to go do some things, see you guys around, nice meeting you Cassandra," Lori smiled and she wandered into the woods.

"I need to go chop some firewood, see you guys around," T-Dog wandered off the opposite direction of Lori, grabbing a fire ax on his way into the woods.

"Hey Amy, want to help me take care of the kids?" I turned to face Amy.

"Sure! I don't have anything else to do," Amy shrugged and I smiled.

"Hey Glenn, do you want to add my stuff to your supply things?" I asked.

"Sure, that'd be great!" Glenn smiled and I handed him my bag and he walked over to the RV where I assumed the supplies were.

"Hey Maddy, go ask Sophia if she wants to join us," I pointed at Sophia and Maddy grinned.

"Sure!" Maddy sped off to where Sophia, Ed, and Carol were and I turned to the group of kids in front of me since everyone else wandered off to do their jobs.

"So what do you guys want to do?" I asked.

"Can you teach me how to shoot a gun?" Carl asked, his eyes lit up.

"I'm not sure if your mom will be okay with that," I warned Carl as I saw Shane walking off in the same direction Lori went and it made me slightly raise an eyebrow at that.

"No fair! Maddy has a gun and she's younger than me!" Carl exclaimed and I sighed.

"It's honestly up to your mom but I would talk to her later," I told him and he frowned.

"We could go play in the lake!" Eliza exclaimed.

"That's boring!" Carl whined.

"No it isn't!" Eliza argued.

"Oh boy," Amy sighed.

"Look who I brought!" Maddy exclaimed as she dragged a giggling Sophia towards us.

"Hey sweetie, I'm Cassandra," I smiled at her.

"I'm Sophia!" Sophia smiled.

"I actually have an idea, how about we climb some trees?" I offered.

"Yeah!" Maddy exclaimed excited.

"I'm not good at climbing," Sophia murmured.

"Well, I think Maddy would be a great teacher for everyone and Amy and I will monitor you and catch you if you fall," I explained.

"That sounds fun!" Louis exclaimed.

"Yeah let's do it!" Carl grinned.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Amy questioned.

"Safer than teaching them how to shoot a gun," I shrugged.

"True," Amy nodded.

"Alright, let's go," I led the kids and Amy into a section of the woods where Shane, Lori, and T-Dog didn't go and after a few minutes of walking, we found two good trees for the kids to climb in.

"Alright, you teach them how to climb, Maddy," I told Maddy and she smiled.

"Okay!" Maddy ran off to in between the trees and started instructing her friends to find something to hold on to.

"If Carl comes back with some bruise, Shane's going to have his head, you know that right?" Amy asked.

"He may be a cop but I can beat his ass if I wanted to," I shrugged and she chuckled.

"You're probably the most badass friend I've ever had," Amy chuckled.

"So we're friends?" I asked her.

"Of course, we are, right?" Amy looked at me confused.

"Yeah, it's just I never had too many friends," I shrugged.

"You aren't that bad, you just have a horrible temper," Amy smiled and I smiled.

"Thanks," I smiled.

"Ms. Cassandra! Look at me!" Sophia exclaimed as she stood a foot above the ground and she waved at me.

"We should be watching the kids huh?" I asked as I looked at the other kids, trying to find places to place their hands while Maddy was encouraging them.

"Yeah," Amy smiled and we went to the 2 trees the kids were climbing and we made sure none of the kids fell.

* * *

"Knock knock," Amy started a joke as the kids and I followed Amy towards the lake after a good 10 minutes of the kids climbing.

"Who's there?" Louis asked.

"Orange," Amy replied.

"Orange who?" Sophia asked.

"Orange you going to open the door?" Amy asked and the kids giggled.

"You tell one Cassandra!" Maddy exclaimed.

"Okay, knock knock," I asked.

"Who's there?" Maddy asked.

"Cows go," I answered.

"Cows go who?" Carl asked.

"No silly! Cows go moo!" I exclaimed and the kids went into giggles and even Amy chuckled a little.

"That was a good one," Amy smiled.

"A little girl I met in Brazil taught me that one," I told her.

"You've been to Brazil?" Amy asked.

"I've been to loads of places for jobs and such," I shrugged.

"You should tell us a story!" Carl exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Eliza exclaimed.

"I think I'll be telling you guys a story later tonight," I told them.

"You should tell us one now!" Maddy whined and I ruffled her hair.

"Hey!" Maddy exclaimed.

"I said no, now let's go play in the lake," I told them.

"I'd rather hear a story," Louis commented.

"Me too!" Eliza exclaimed.

"A story would be fun," Amy shrugged.

"You're teaming up against me too?" I asked.

"Yep because she loves me!" Maddy hugged Amy.

"Fine," I groaned and the kids cheered loudly and Amy began to laugh a little.

"Jesus! Ye're scaring away the damn animals with all yer hollerin and shit!" A familiar voice growled and in less than 5 seconds, a pissed off Daryl appeared from the trees.

"I thought you already had enough meat for tonight," I looked at him.

"We do, I'm just tired of hearing everyone talkin so I went to hunt," He shrugged.

"Cass is about to tell us a story! Want to come?" Maddy invited Daryl.

"Story? You some storyteller?" Daryl snorted and stared at me.

"No! She's a CIA agent!" Carl exclaimed.

"Yeah, she probably has some cool stories!" Sophia smiled and I chuckled.

"CIA agent?" Daryl raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yes but I'm just as clueless as you on what the hell is going on," I told him.

"But can you please come?" Maddy asked.

"Nah, I need to hunt," Daryl shrugged.

"Come on, you just said we have enough food to last us for tonight plus you're supposed to take me hunting tomorrow," I shrugged.

"Please?" Maddy begged.

"Fine but I don't want anyone sitting on my lap," Daryl grumbled and I smiled.

"Alright kiddies and Daryl, let's go down to lake and I'll tell you all a story," We all walked down to the lake with Daryl grumbling something about 'lil kids' and Amy was giving small, uncomfortable glances back at Daryl who was standing near the back.

"Hey, are you okay?" I whispered to Amy.

"Yeah, it's just that I've never been this close to Daryl or seen him like this at all, he usually would've snorted and walked away," Amy replied.

"Huh, must be the kid," I told her.

"Probably," Amy shrugged.

"Hey! What're ya women talkin about?" Daryl shouted from the back.

"And you say we scare the animals away," I rolled my eyes and Amy giggled.

"Whatever," Daryl mumbled.

"That's a pretty sweet crossbow you've got, Horton Scout HD 125 right?" I asked as the lake came into view.

"Yeah, how'd you know that?" Daryl asked as I soon found a boulder near the lake to sit on and I walked towards it, the kids following me like ducklings would follow their mother duck.

"Well, back in the good ol high school days, my friend's dad would take my friend and me out to the forest near their house and he taught me how to shoot with a Horton Scout HD 125 like yours, some his Excalibur crossbows, his hunting rifles, and once he taught both of us how to shoot a handgun which thus began my gun experience and love for guns," I shrugged as I sat down on the rock and the kids surrounded the rock like grandchildren would sit around their grandma on a rocker. Amy and Daryl stood a little bit behind the kids but within hearing range and they both sat down, far away from each other.

"Thought you were the type to braid hair and shit like that," Daryl commented.

"I'd rather be mauled by a grizzly bear than do that type of crap," I cringed.

"What about yer dad?" Daryl asked and I flinched.

"What about him?" I asked.

"Did he teach ya how to shoot?" Daryl asked.

"My dad died when I was 2 so no," I explained and his face fell and he looked like he got an answer wrong even though he thought it was right.

"Can you tell us a story now?" Eliza asked.

"Sure, what do you want it to be about?" I placed my chin on my hand and I slumped over as I waited for an answer.

"I don't know, something amazing, I guess," Carl answered.

"Well, how about we take a trip to Russia?" I asked and the kids nodded in agreement.

"November 15th, 1999, I was in the Langan's Irish Pub & Restaurant with my co-worker, Katie and Jodie when we get a call from our boss," I started my story and soon I had my whole audience captivated as the story went along even Daryl Dixon.

**Hello! Sorry this isn't my best chapter but don't worry, the story will get interesting soon enough! Thanks for reading and please favorite, follow, and/or review this story if you liked it! Toodles! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello! Thanks for reading this far! Please review, favorite, or/and follow if you liked this chapter! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or do I... just kidding I don't**

"That's so cool!" Carl exclaimed as I finished my story.

"Was it amazing enough for you?" I asked.

"Definitely!" Carl grinned and I chuckled.

"The only part I didn't like was when you had to amputate that guy's leg off, gross!" Maddy wrinkled her nose and I chuckled.

"It happens in a battlefield," I shrugged.

"So how about we get back to camp, I think it's almost dinner time," I glanced at Amy.

"Yeah, they usually start cooking around this time," Amy commented and I nodded.

"That was a great story Ms. Cassandra!" Louis grinned.

"Call me Cass and that goes for all of you," I told the group of children and they grinned.

"Okay Cass!" Eliza grinned.

"Alright, let's go!" Amy exclaimed and the children followed her while Daryl and I hanged out in the back.

"Not sure Lori'll be appreciatin the story ya told Carl, _Cass_," Daryl told me as we followed the children.

"Lori can come bite me if she wants to," I scoffed and he chuckled.

"I see you don't fancy Lori that well?" Daryl asked.

"Oh yeah, she shelters her kid too much," I replied.

"So was that story you told the kids was really true?" Daryl asked.

"You think I pulled all of that out of my ass? Of course it's true," I answered.

"That's one hell of a story," Daryl mumbled.

"Thanks, got a scar from that one," I commented.

"Got a lot of scars like that?" Daryl asked.

"And more to follow," I answered and he stopped after that.

"So does yer kid know how to shoot that thing of hers?" Daryl pointed at Maddy's gun which was still tucked in her back pocket.

"She isn't my kid but I taught her myself, she's a good shot with that gun," I told him.

"So you didn't give her that scar of hers?" Daryl asked, looking at the scar that I saw as well when I first met her.

"Good eye, no I didn't but if I had met her parents, I would've beaten the shit out of them, no one deserves that," I told him.

"Wish everyone was like that," Daryl mumbled and soon we were back with the group and the kids scattered to their parents and Maddy chatted with Amy and Sophia for a minute and then dashed toward me.

"That was a cool story, Cass! Is it okay if I hang out with Amy and Sophia in the RV for a while? Amy's going to teach us how to play checkers!" Maddy asked, her eyes alight with excitement.

"As long as you don't bother Amy or Dale and you keep the RV clean," I told her and she smiled.

"I won't!" Maddy smiled and she ran off to Amy who grinned and winked at me at which I rolled my eyes before she took Maddy inside the RV.

There was a silence between the two of us, it was a nice type of silence even though it was tad bit awkward.

"So do you have an extra hunting gun or bow? I don't think my handgun will work out," I joked.

"Nope," Daryl answered.

"Damn it, I don't want to do any of that cleaning shit," I mumbled.

"Maybe you could watch the kids or somethin," Daryl shrugged.

"Ha, like Lori would let me after the story I told Carl," I glanced at Carl who was probably telling the story to his mom, from the looks of Lori's face which almost made me laugh.

"So why do you not want to do laundry and all that women work?" Daryl asked and I rolled my eyes at that last part.

"Can you really see me scrubbing down laundry, chatting happily along with the other women, and gossiping about who knows what?" I asked.

"You've gotta a point there especially after when you beat my brother's ass," Daryl commented and I nodded.

"I'd rather be devoured by those walkers than work," I commented.

"Probably shouldn't say that round my brother," Daryl mumbled.

"No kidding," I snorted.

"So what're ya going to do?" Daryl asked.

"Glenn does runs right?" I asked.

"Yeah," Daryl nodded.

"Maybe I could do some with him," I shrugged.

"He usually runs alone but you could help him out," Daryl shrugged.

"Or I could just ask him to get me a hunting rifle or a bow and some arrows on his next run," I shrugged.

"Sounds like a good idea," Daryl nodded.

"I'll be right back," I walked over to Glenn who was chatting with Jacqui over something.

"Hey Glenn, can I talk to you?" I asked once I got into their hearing range.

"Sure! I was actually just finishing up talking to Jacqui," Glenn told me and Jacqui smiled.

"What do you think about the group so far?" Jacqui asked.

"The children are super sweet that's for sure and Amy's a sweetheart," I told her and she smiled.

"I agree with you on that, how about Daryl? I saw you talking to him," Jacqui glanced at Daryl and I turned my head to see him watching us but he looked away once I made eye contact with him.

"He's not too bad, a little quiet and standoffish but he isn't as bad as his brother," I shrugged.

"Hm, well I'll see you two later at dinner tonight, I should probably go help Andrea," Jacqui smiled and walked over to Andrea who was trying to open a can of beans.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Glenn asked.

"You go on runs for the group correct?" I asked.

"Yeah," Glenn answered.

"Do you take requests?" I asked.

"Sure, what do you need?" Glenn asked.

"Just a hunting weapon, bow and arrows are okay but I'd prefer a hunting rifle, just whatever you can find," I told him.

"Okay, when do you need it?" Glenn asked.

"Whenever you can find one," I shrugged.

"Okay, I'm going to Lawrenceville in two days so I'll keep my eyes peeled," Glenn smiled.

"Oh yeah, I've been there once with a couple of old friends, there's a Bass Pro Shop, it's down Sugarloaf Parkway or something like that," I told him.  
"Yeah, Sugarloaf Parkway, I know what you're talking about," Glenn nodded and I smiled.

"Thanks, hopefully it won't be too big of a hassle," I told him.

"Don't worry, the group has sent me to worse places," He smiled.

"Do you want me to come along with you?" I asked.

"No offense, but I get better along by myself," He told me.

"Alright, but please take one of my guns, I'd feel a whole lot better that you're taking one of my babies," I told him.  
"Babies?" Glenn asked.

"Yeah, I've had them for about 15 years, they will always be my babies," I snorted and he chuckled.

"Whatever, I need to go talk to Shane about some things," Glenn smiled and then walked off to Shane and I took a glance at him again because he had this look on his face like someone who just had sex, I could tell.

"So Shane has the I-just-had-sex look on his face," I commented as I walked back to Daryl and he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Really?" Daryl asked.

"Well back in 2004 I believe, two of my fellow agents had an affair and sometimes would have sex in a _secret_ place during work and the guy _always_ had that look on his face when they came back from their 'coffee break'," I fingered the coffee break part.

"Well, he does have that look that Merle would get sometimes after a night after going to a bar, maybe masturbation?" Daryl asked and I snorted which earned me a glare from Daryl.

"Sorry that was a little funny, but he keeps stealing small glances at Lori, see?" I pointed at where Shane stole a quick glance in Lori's direction and then would look away in a flash, hard to notice but I could still see it.

"I thought Lori was Shane's best friend's wife?" Daryl asked.

"Huh, didn't know that," I shrugged.

"So ye're saying ye're wrong?" Daryl asked and I snorted again.

"Nope, I'm just saying that I didn't know that but I bet they've had sex," I shrugged.

"I doubt it," Daryl grunted.

"Hasn't there been a time where Lori or Shane would go grab something and then the other person would leave to take a piss or something and wouldn't be back for a few minutes but then would come back later at different time gaps from the same forest?" I asked and he thought about it and made a face.

"That's pretty fucked up," Daryl commented.

"Men do fucked up stuff," I shrugged.

"How did you notice that so fast?" Daryl asked.

"It was my job as a CIA agent to deal with international stuff and with that you have to be a good shot, good eye, good at improvising when plans go wrong, pretty good detective skills, have a strong loyalty to your country, know some foreign language, and good decision making skills," I shrugged.

"What languages do you know?" Daryl asked.

"German, Spanish, and Russian," I answered.

"Damn," Daryl mumbled and I laughed.

"I had to learn Spanish because I lived with a Spanish family when I was 6 ½, but they kicked me out when I was 7 ½, German I took as a language class in high school, and Russian because I love Russia and I go there a lot on vacation or whenever they need an agent in Russia, I'm the first one to volunteer," I told him.

"Ya didn't stay long with that family," Daryl noted.

"Not a lot of my foster families didn't want me, all said I was 'too violent' or they abused me until CPS got me," I shrugged and he frowned.

"Were all of yer foster families like that?" He asked.

"Not all, when I was 9, I lived with a retired cop until he died and then I stayed in Missouri for the rest of my teenage years before I got accepted the C.I.A. and went to Washington D.C.," I answered and he nodded.

"So what about you? What was your life before all of this?" I asked and he frowned.

"Rather not talk about it," He grunted.

"Come on, I gave you a summary about my life, tell me yours," I told him and he was about to snap at me but Jacqui interrupted him.

"Dinner's ready ya'll, come eat!" Jacqui shouted and I smiled as Maddy ran over to me, grinning.

"Cass! Tonight we're having squirrel and beans! I love squirrel!" Maddy exclaimed.

"Well you have to thank Daryl for the squirrel," I smiled at her.

"Thanks Daryl!" Maddy grinned at him and he couldn't help but crack a small smile.

"Go get some food before it's all gone, I'll be there in a sec," I told her.

"Okay! I'll save a spot for you and Daryl if he wants!" Maddy smiled.  
"No thanks kid, just gonna go back to my tent once I get my food," Daryl told her and Maddy's face fell a little before it perked up again.

"Okay, well I'll just save a spot for you and Sophia!" Maddy smiled at me and she ran to where food was being passed out.

"You're just making an excuse so you don't have to tell me your past," I told him.

"Or maybe you're an annoying bitch," Daryl snapped.

"You know what? I'm going to go get some dinner, hopefully you're not acting like an asshole tomorrow," I snapped as I walked over to the line before I punched Daryl in the jaw like I wanted to.

"Cass!" Daryl shouted my nickname and I turned around, a little far away from the group but I knew that Carol who was closest to us was watching us curiously.

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"Um, hunting's at dawn, so don't sleep in or we'll leave yer ass behind," He told me.

"Okay, thanks," I told him and then I continued walking towards the campfire.

Soon I was in the back of the line and I saw Carol walked over to the end of the line behind me.

"So how was your day?" I turned around and asked Carol as we waited for the food since we were in the back of the line.

"Me?" Carol asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I'm Cassandra by the way, you're Carol right?" I asked and motioned her to stand next to me which she did with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, my day was well, did some cleaning, how about you?" Carol asked.

"Good, spent it babysitting with the kids and chatting with Daryl," I shrugged.

"Daryl doesn't seem the chatty type," Carol commented.

"He doesn't seem like it but he usually replies to what I say and asks questions like a normal person would but he can be an asshole," I told her and Carol chuckled.

"I don't think I've seen him ever have that long of a conversation with anyone besides his brother, he usually sticks back and away from everybody," Carol explained.

"Interesting, your daughter Sophia's so sweet by the way, probably one of the sweetest girls I've met and quite shy until I talked to her a little more," I told Carol and she smiled.

"I love Sophia with all of my heart, I just wish she had a better life than what she has now and didn't have to live through all of this," Carol sighed and I nodded in agreement.

"Well if Sophia ever wants to have a little tent sleepover, Maddy and I would love to have her over, you too," I smiled and I looked at Maddy and Sophia who were chatting on a log next to the fire and giggling like best friends.

"I appreciate that but I don't think her father would approve of her anywhere besides our tent," Carol sighed as she looked at Ed who was a few feet in front of us and was rudely listening in on our conversation from what I could tell.  
"Okay but think about it okay?" I asked her, not wanting to make things worse for her and I noticed Ed loosen up a little.

"Maybe," Carol bit her lip and I wanted to hug her so much but instead we continued chatting about the girls and how well they've gotten along until Andrea handed us our food and then Carol went to sit with Ed and I walked over and sat in between Maddy and Amy who sat near the large group fire but they were out of hearing range of the big group.

"Hey Cass!" Maddy greeted me.

"Hello Ms. Ca-, I mean Cass!" Sophia giggled as I ruffled her hair.

"That's punishment for calling me miss, missy!" I fake scolded her and she laughed.

"Hey Cass," Amy smiled.

"So I heard you taught these ladies how to play checkers," I told her and she nodded.

"They're both naturals at it," Amy smiled.

"I beat Amy _5 _times!" Maddy exclaimed.

"Me too!" Sophia nodded and I looked at Amy who just smiled.

"Wow, you guys must be good!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, it was fun," Maddy grinned.

"Hello girls, mind if I sit with you guys?" Dale asked.

"We don't mind Mr. Dale!" Sophia told him.

"You can call me Dale sweetie," Dale smiled.

"So how're you two enjoying this group?" Dale asked Maddy and me.

"I love this group! I've made so many friends like Carl, Sophia, Amy, Eliza, Louis, Glenn, and more!" Maddy told him.

"I like this group, I've met a lot of kind people," I told him.

"I saw that you were with Daryl," Dale noted.

"Everyone keeps telling me that!" I exclaimed and Amy chuckled.

"It's just that he usually keeps his distance away from everyone, just hunts and skins mostly, it's quite a curious sight to see him talking to anyone, especially the woman who took his brother down, nice job by the way," Dale complimented me.

"Thanks," I smiled and I felt a finger in my hair.

"What're you doing?" I turned to Sophia who was stroking my hair.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to see if your hair was real," Sophia blushed a light pink and I chuckled.

"Don't worry about it, just curious. It's real, I dyed it when I was a senior in high school, I decided to go bright or go home," I told her and Dale chuckled.

"Well it sure is bright," Amy noted and I chuckled.

"So what did you guys do before all of this?" I asked.

"I was a retired car salesman," Dale told me.

"I was a college student," Amy told me.

"What course were you taking?" I asked her.

"I started out with getting a teaching degree but I switched to journalism after I learned that I was horrible at teaching," Amy told me.

"I couldn't teach to save my life, I'd probably punch a couple of troublemakers," I told her and she laughed.  
"That's what I almost did," Amy told me.

"So what's it like in Washington D.C.?" Dale asked.

"You've never been there?" I asked.

"I was planning to travel the country with my wife but she died of cancer before we could. That's the reason I got the RV," Dale explained.

"I'm sorry, Dale," I told him and he nodded.

"Washington D.C.'s wonderful, it's even better than the pictures I'll tell you that, parking's definitely a bitch but besides that it's nice," I told him.

"Where else have you gone?" Amy asked.

"A lot of places which I'll tell another day," I told her.

"That's no fair! You told the kids a story," Amy fake pouted.

"Well, you got to hear it to so no more stories for tonight, I'll tell another one tomorrow night," I told her as I finished eating my squirrel and I moved on to the canned refried beans which didn't look as good as the squirrel.

"Want to switch? I'm not a huge fan of Daryl's squirrel and you look like you're not a huge fan of the beans," Amy offered and I smiled at her.

"Sure, thanks," We switched and I ate the rest of Amy's squirrel and Amy ate my beans.

"Alright, I'm going to head to bed, Shane should show you where your tents are," Dale explained to Maddy and I as he rose up from his seat.

"Night Mr. Dale!" Maddy and Sophia shouted.

"Night Dale," I and Amy told him and he smiled and walked into his RV.

"So journalism huh?" I asked and she laughed.

"I was dating a guy and I couldn't pick a degree so he said to join his journalism class and get a degree in journalism. The funny thing is we broke up 5 weeks later," Amy explained and I chuckled.

"Nice," I told her.

"He was pretty dreamy. Shaggy black hair, lilac eyes, tan skin, and those muscles! Bench pressing does miracles," I laughed as Amy chatted about him.

"Was he the one that got away?" I asked.

"I caught him cheating on another girl," Amy sighed.

"That's a bummer," I told her.

"Oh I got him back, filled his dorm room with a mixture of corn starch and water," Amy smirked.

"God, that had to smell horrible," I told her and she nodded.

"Exactly," Amy grinned.

"Sophia! Let's get to bed!" Ed barked near his tent with Carol waiting behind Ed.

"Bye guys," Sophia whispered to us, a scared expression in her eyes as she ran off to her dad as fast as she could.

"I just hate Ed," Amy mumbled.

"What does he do?" I asked.

"Well, all he does is sit on his ass and yell at us women while we're washing clothes and stuff, he does absolutely nothing. The only reason Shane keeps him is because Ed has some survival stuff," Amy explained.

"He had that asshole look on him when I first laid eyes on him," I mumbled.

"Which one?" Amy asked.

"Don't tell anyone but both," I whispered and we both laughed.

"Cass, I'm tired," Maddy yawned, stretching her arms out and spreading her mouth far out and I smiled.

"Alright, Mads. I'll see you tomorrow, Amy," I picked myself up off of the dirt floor.

"Can you carry me?" Maddy asked.

"Sure thing," I scooped her up in my arms and she wrapped her arms and legs around my like a koala.

"Don't fall asleep on me okay?" I asked.

"M'kay," She mumbled drowsily and I chuckled as I walked towards Shane and Lori was, laughing over something while the rest of the group finished up their food and they were starting to turn in for the night.

"Hey Shane, can you show Maddy and me our tent? Dale told me that you would show me and Maddy's getting tired," I told Shane, ignoring the glare I was getting from Lori.

"Alright then, I'll be back," Shane glanced back at Lori and then he got up and led us across the camp to a dark blue tent that inside had two sleeping bags and would fit both of us comfortably.

"Luckily, we had an extra tent for you two or else we would have to put you with the Dixons, who're actually the next tent over if you need anything from them but Glenn and T-Dog are on your other side so you can ask them questions as well," Shane told us and I nodded.

"Thank you, Shane," I told him and he nodded.

"It's what I do, night," Shane exited out of the tent and I heard it zip up.

"Mads, can you get off please? You're not heavy but you need to get into your sleeping bag. Mads?" I asked for a few seconds and then I soon noticed that Maddy was asleep from all of the walking and I chuckled.

"Well, looks like you'll get the green sleeping bag," I tucked Maddy into the dark green and silver sleeping bag that reminded me of the Slytherin colors from Harry Potter and I slipped into a dark red and silver sleeping bag and after a few minutes of tossing and turning, I fell asleep.

**Please let me know if I made any spelling or spacing or some sort of mistake in the review or somewhere like that. Thanks for reading! Toodles! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

After a few hours of sleep, I woke up around dawn and glanced towards Maddy who was still sound asleep.

"I'll let her sleep," I told myself and I quickly stood up and stretched my arms, blinking my drowsiness away and I made sure my gun was still in my gun holster and then I began stretching like my usual morning routine.

After I finished my morning routine, I stepped out of the tent trying to be as silent as I could be and then I glanced around the camp.

No one was up except Glenn who was on watch and Daryl who was leaning against a tree, looking at me.

I walked towards Glenn and he smiled as he saw me walking towards him.

"Hey, if Maddy asks where I am, tell her I went hunting with Daryl," I told Glenn.

"Okay, be careful," Glenn warned and I smiled.

"Don't worry about me, worry about Daryl," I told him and he chuckled and I walked back towards Daryl.

"What were ya doin with Glenn? Flirtin?" Daryl sneered and I rolled my eyes.

"Asshole, I was telling him that if Maddy wakes up to tell her that I was with you," I told him.

"Oh, well, let's go. Merle told me to just go with you and he'll stay behind," Daryl told me.

"I highly doubt he said it like that," I told him and he shrugged.

"You don't want to know what he said about us hunting," He told me and I nodded, seeing what he meant.

"Well what do you want me to do since I don't have any weapons to hunt with?" I asked.

"Well since Merle's not joining us, I thought maybe ya can use his huntin rifle instead," Daryl handed me a nice hunting rifle which model I didn't recognize.

"Let's get going, we probably won't be back till noon," Daryl ordered and I nodded.

"Alright," I nodded and we were on our way.

* * *

_A few hours later..._

"Looks like some deer tracks," I pointed at the tracks that I noticed and ordered Daryl to look at.

"Ye're right," Daryl nodded.

"The wind is in our favor so we should just follow the tracks," I told him and he nodded.

"Smart thinkin," He complimented.

"Was that a compliment from Daryl?" I asked in fake shock.

"Whatever, let's keep goin," Daryl grunted and soon we were near the doe who was munching on a weed.

Its fur was a nice light brown and was quite big for a doe, its meat could last us a day or two I bet which was a good thing.

"Take the shot, I shot the last two squirrels," Daryl told me and I nodded.

"Okay," I nodded and I aimed for the eye of the doe and I fired.

A loud crack echoed from the gun as the doe collapsed to the ground and we began walking towards it.

"Want ta take the squirrels and I'll take ta doe?" Daryl asked.

"Sure," I shrugged and he handed the dead squirrels to me, our hands brushing a little bit and I notice Daryl's face turn a little rosy.

"Did I just make Daryl blush?" I asked amused and Daryl frowned.

Shut up and take the damn squirrels," He grumbled and handed me the squirrels and then lifted the doe onto his back and we began our walk.

"Should we head back to camp?" I asked him as we continued our path.

"We haven't been out long," Daryl answered.

"True, we've only been out for 3 hours but we have about a dozen squirrels and a doe which is pretty good for a hunt," I told him.

"We probably could eat the doe tonight and use the squirrel tomorrow," He shrugged.

"My thoughts exactly, so want to go back?" I asked.

"Nah, don't want to be around the group, let's just walk and hunt," He told me and I nodded.

"Do you want to carry that doe around for so long?" I asked and he shrugged.

"It ain't that bad," He told me.

"Alright," I told him.

"Ye're a pretty good shot with that rifle," Daryl told me as he walked the forest.

"Well, over 20 years of using guns especially a hunting rifle can do that do you," I shrugged.

"How old are you?" Daryl asked.

"36, you?" I asked.

"38," Daryl answered.

"Aren't you a little old to do this hunting?" I asked and he snorted.

"Shut up, ye're not that much younger than me," He told me.

"So when did you start firing that crossbow of yours? Couldn't have started when all of this happened," I told him and he nodded.

"When I was bout 16, I shot my first crossbow," Daryl told me and I snickered.

"What?" He asked.

"I shot my first gun when I was 12," I told him and he looked at me in surprise.

"My best friend's dad was a huge gun person, he would let us hunt with him and he taught us how to shoot guns," I explained.

"Sounds like a good man," Daryl noted.

"Was practically my dad throughout my life, was the man who would take me fishing, who I would give Father's Day cards to, he actually even did threatened my prom date when I was 17," I smiled thinking about that memory.

"He sounds like he was a better father than my dad," Daryl mumbled and I nodded, knowing that I should leave it at that.

"So what did you do before all of this?" I asked.

"Does it matter?" He asked.

"Not really, was just curious since you practically know my life story," I shrugged and he snorted.

"I was just a drifter, listened to my brother and did what he said," Daryl shrugged.

"Did you ever go out of state?" I asked.

"I've never left Georgia," Daryl answered with a shrug.

"What jobs did you do before all of this as a drifter?" I asked.

"Worked in construction in Macon for a little, worked a car repair shop in Athens, stuff like that," Daryl shrugged.

"I can see you doing that," I shrugged, thinking about Daryl in a pair of navy blue overalls they wear in repair shops with oil caked on his uniform.

"Can we stop for a sec?" Daryl asked and I could tell that doe was giving him hell.

"Told you that doe would be a pain in the ass," I told him.  
"Shut up, Cass," Daryl snapped and I chuckled.

We stopped and I leaned against a tree while Daryl set the doe on the floor and leaned on the tree next to me.

"Wanna smoke?" Daryl grabbed a cigarette box out of his back pocket and pulled out one for himself and then offered me the box.

"I've never had a smoke actually. Our boss would kill us if he caught us smoking plus I have bad memories with cigarettes," I told him.

"So that's a no?" Daryl asked.

"Nope, might as well while I can," I pulled one out and he pulled out a lighter and lit both of ours.

I inhaled the smoke and quickly pulled out the cigarette to give a loud cough as the smoke went through my lungs.

"It ain't that bad," Daryl told me and I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up Daryl," I snapped and he chuckled as I put the cigarette back in my mouth.

Soon I got the hang of the smoke and we leaned against the tree, smoking in silence for a few minutes before Daryl started talking again.

"So what's up with the bright red hair?" Daryl asked.

"What about it?" I asked.

"Is it dyed or some shit like that?" Daryl asked and I chuckled.

"I dyed it when I was high school. It used to be sandy blonde but I got so sick of the blonde jokes I'd receive and then getting sent to detention afterwards for beating the shit out of whoever said that, I just dyed it bright red and I've had it like this ever since," I brushed my fingers through my hair.

"Ya look better red than a blonde," Daryl nodded and I smirked and blew out the cigarette smoke.

"Thanks," I smiled.

We went back to silence as we both finished up our cigarette and I copied Daryl in destroying the little stub.

"Thanks for the smoke, I might want to do that more often," I told him and he grunted in response.

"Do ya wanna go back?" Daryl asked.

"Do you think the doe will be okay for a little longer out in the shade?" I asked.

"The only thing we'd need ta worry bout is the walkers," Daryl answered.

"Okay then let's just stand here, I don't want to go back to the drama camp," I answered and Daryl snorted.

"Do ya not like the camp?" Daryl asked and I shook my head.

"Not really, it's just that I don't like some of the people there," I shrugged.

"Ye're not the only one," Daryl simply answered.

"They seem nice and all but some seem like they act nice and then talk shit about you behind your back. It's high school all over again," I told him and he laughed.

"At least we don't have to deal with hormones and our voices cracking," He joked.

"Don't forget about Carl, Maddy, and Sophia," I joked.

"Oh god," Daryl mumbled and I chuckled.

"So how did ya meet Maddy when all of this happened?" Daryl asked.

"Well I had set up in a camping ground nearby this one and I was looking around the area when I heard a shrill scream. Of course, I sprinted to the location of the scream and saw her trying to climb up a tree but a walker had a hold of her leg and two other walkers were stumbling over to her thinking she was a little appetizer so I took down all of the walkers and I invited her to my group which she accepted. The next morning I taught her how to shoot and then the next day is when I met Glenn," I explained to him.  
"She's pretty close to ya for only meetin her just 4 days ago," Daryl commented.

"I guess I have that charm on people," I shrugged and he mumbled something under his breath.

"What did you say?" I asked him.

"Nothin' but we should probably go back," Daryl grumbled and he walked over towards the doe and placed it over his back again.

"Okay," I sighed, a little disappointed that our conversation ended. Wait, did I just say that?

"We should do this more often," I told him, thinking about how I felt.

"What?" Daryl asked.

"Just lean against a tree, smoke, and talk," I shrugged.

"Okay, I guess," Daryl shrugged and turned away hiding what I didn't know at that time a smile and a blush.

"It looks about noon-ish," I commented as I looked at the sun's position.

"Huh, it was only 9 when we got this doe," Daryl commented.

"Time flies when you're having fun," I told him.

"There're a lot more fun things we could do than just talk," Daryl mumbled and I snickered thinking about my dirty mind.

"Dirty mind," Daryl mumbled.

"Dirty guy," I replied back and he grunted.

We continued to walk in silence, savoring the scenery but soon enough we arrived back at camp where everyone was doing their jobs with Dale taking watch.

"You guys took long enough," Shane walked over to us and commented.

"Not really," I told him and he gave me an icy glare.

"We got some deer that should last us tonight and then some squirrels for tomorrow," Daryl told him and he nodded.

"We could probably make some squirrel stew tomorrow, that's pretty good," I commented and Daryl nodded.

"Thanks, this will be highly appreciated," Shane nodded.

"Hey sugartits! Wanna go?" I heard Merle's voice call out towards Andrea and I could hear her shout for him to go to hell.

"Don't be like that babe!" Merle appeared out of their tent and from the looks of it, he's as high as a kite.

"Daryl, will you try to calm your brother down before I do and Cassandra, Maddy's in the RV if you need her," Shane told us before he walked towards Dale to talk to him about something.

"Have fun with Merle," I told him.

"No promises," He mumbled as we separated way, me heading towards the RV and Daryl heading over to Merle who was still catcalling Andrea.

I arrived inside the RV to hear Amy explaining some rules to Sophia and Maddy.

"And then you pick the card that best suits that word and then the judge will pick which one describes the word best," Amy explained as I walked towards them.

"Hey guys!" I greeted them and Maddy gave me a hug.

"Cass! Glenn told me you went hunting with Daryl so I played tag with Carl, Louis, Eliza, and Sophia for a little and then Carl and Louis went down to the lake with Glenn while Eliza went to take a nap. Amy's teaching us how to play Apples to Apples!" Maddy told me.

"Want to join?" Amy offered.

"Sure! I love that game!" I smiled as I scooted next to Amy and Maddy sat across from me.

"Yay!" Maddy cheered and we soon began our game of Apples to Apples.

**Hello everyone! Thanks for reading the 9th chapter of this story! I hope you enjoyed it like you have with my other chapters and I'd like to thank you guys for favoriting and following my story, it really helps me a lot to know that some people actually like this! :D Another chapter will be updated sometime soon so keep an eye out for it! Toodles! :) **


	10. Chapter 10

After playing several games of Apples to Apples which Amy and Sophia tied in the amount of wins, Sophia and Maddy went to play with Eliza and Amy and I decided to stay in the RV.

"So you went hunting with Daryl?" Amy asked as I moved to sit on the other side of the table.

"Yeah, we got a doe and about a dozen squirrels," I answered.

"Did you guys do anything else?" Amy asked.

"Well, he gave me my first cigarette and we smoked and talked for a little," I shrugged.

"Just a cigarette huh? How about a fleshy one?" Amy wiggled her eyebrows and I rolled my eyes as I kicked her in the shin.

"Ow!" She cried out in pain.

"Don't be so damn dirty Amy, you sounded like me when I was in high school," I told her and she laughed.

"Hey, I'm just saying, you two were out there for like 6 hours. Who knows what could've happened," Amy teased and I scoffed.

"I highly doubt that Daryl sees me like that," I told her.

"So you see him like that?" Amy asked.

"I never said that!" I exclaimed.

"Oh! Cass has a crush!" Amy grinned and I kicked her in the shin again.

"Jesus! You're giving me a bruise," Amy cried out and I chuckled.

"You keep asking for it," I told her and she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," Amy told me.

"So I notice that your eyes will linger on Shane now and then," I told her and it was her turn to roll her eyes.

"Whatever. He's hot and all but I know he's not interested in me," Amy told me.

"Not to mention he's a douche," I told her.

"No, he isn't!" Amy exclaimed.

"Oh yeah he is. Wait until a walker appears and he has to pick between saving you or himself, he's going to save himself so that he can protect Lori and Carl," I told her.

"That's a very noble reason," Amy defended and I rolled my eyes.

"It's not out of the goodness of his heart," I mumbled.

"Whatever, you have to admit he's pretty hot," Amy continued, not hearing me.

"He is pretty attractive, I just don't like him that much," I shrugged.

"Good now I don't disown you as my best friend," Amy joked and I smiled.

"Want to play a round of checkers?" Amy asked.

"Sure why not? We have time to kill," I shrugged and Amy grabbed a checker board and set it up.

"Cassandra?" Carol peeked her head and smiled at us.

"Hello Carol! Do you need anything?" I greeted her with a smile.

"Oh no, I was just going to ask if you want to go bathe in the lake with me? Shane told me I should bring someone and I thought you might want to come along," Carol told me with a soft smile on her face as she held up a towel, some small toiletries, and a change of clothes.

"Sure, save this game for later?" I asked Amy.

"Of course! I should probably go check on the girls too, have fun!" We both got up from the table and I walked with Carol as Amy walked over to Eliza and Maddy.

"I don't have a change of clothes but I have some toiletries in my tent if I could go grab them," I told her and she smiled.

"You can use some of my stuff, just go grab your towel," Carol told me and I smiled.

"Thanks Carol," I smiled at her and I ran towards my tent and grabbed the white towel that Glenn gave back to me from my backpack since some of the stuff I had I could keep in the backpack.

"Let's go," I told Carol as I walked back to her and we walked down to the lake.

"So I heard you went hunting with Daryl," Carol commented.

"Yes and all we did was hunt, have a cigarette, and talk a little," I told her and she looked at me.

"You smoke?" Carol asked in surprise.

"I never did before Daryl offered me one. They aren't that bad, they just give me bad memories which is why I never had one before all of this," I shrugged.

"You're not the only one with bad memories with cigarettes?" Carol mumbled.

"Does Ed smoke?" I asked.

"Yes, why?" Carol asked and I understood where her bad memories came from.

"Nothing really, I was just curious," I shrugged and she nodded.

We soon arrived at the lake and after glancing around and making sure that no one was nearby, we both stripped and dipped into the lake, staying near the land where our towels and toiletries were.

"This is so cold!" Carol exclaimed as she grabbed the shampoo and I grabbed the bar of soap.

"It's not too bad," I told her as I scrubbed myself down.

"Thanks for coming down here with me," Carol told me as we switched items.

"Not a problem. Where's Ed?" I asked her.

"Oh, he and Sophia wanted to go hiking so they went hiking, they should be back in a few hours so I decided to go wash," Carol lied and I raised an eyebrow.

"Ed doesn't seem like the hiking type," I told her.

"Oh, he just wanted to spend some alone time with Sophia and she wanted to go hiking so he went!" Carol lied again and I decided to drop it knowing that if I dug too deep, she'd probably burst into tears.

"So what did you do before all of this?" I asked Carol.

"Oh, I was a stay at home mom. I would substitute sometimes but usually Ed brought home the bacon with his job as a mechanic," Carol answered and I nodded.

"Do you have any crazy story as a substitute?" I asked her.

"They're probably not as crazy as yours but this one time," Carol started her story which I listen to but I also felt this tingling sense that I was being watched.

"So the kid stapled his hand, told you that he was going to the nurse, and then walked away?" I asked in surprise.

"Crazy right?" Carol asked and I laughed.

"We should probably go back up to camp huh?" I asked.

"That'd be a good idea," Carol nodded and I grabbed my towel and quickly wrapped it around me once I stepped out of the lake.

I quickly dried myself off and then slipped my old clothes on as Carol slipped on a loose light, purple tank top, light brown cargo pants, and some ratty looking purple flats.

"Let's go up to camp and see if dinner's ready," I told her and she nodded.

"It probably will be in a few minutes," Carol nodded and we started our walk up and I felt like I was being watched again.

"Enjoyed the peep asshole?" I asked out loud and I snickered as I heard a twig snap.

"How did you know that someone was watching us?" Carol asked in surprise.

"Just had the feeling," I shrugged as we continued our walk towards camp, a pair of Caribbean blue eyes watching us.

**Hello! This one was kind of a filler chapter since the next one actually has some issues with some people *cough* *cough* Ed *cough* *cough* so yeah! We'll also be starting to get into the actual episodes instead of before the chapters since I think I've been taking too long into getting into the episodes so be patient please! Anyways thanks for reading! Toodles! :) **


	11. Chapter 11

**Happy Readings! **

A few weeks have passed since I first arrived at the group, I've became closer friends with Amy, Glenn, Carol, Andrea, Daryl, and even Merle was starting to like me after a couple hunting trips.

I wasn't on the best terms with Lori and Shane but they never attempted to kick me out of the group which was good, I've also made great enemies with Ed after seeing Carol one day with bruises and I had a discussion with him which ended up with him getting a black eye and a sharp, lasting pain in his crotch while I got stuck with a bloody nose and Shane being extremely pissed off at me.

Of course Maddy was friends with everyone except Shane. Hell, even Merle would be nice to her (mainly because I kicked his ass again when he insulted Maddy about her pigtails).

When Glenn went on that trip, he was able to grab me a pretty nice crossbow and some arrows to go with it and was also able to grab some fishing poles for Andrea and Amy plus some more canned goods.

Like I hoped, Daryl and I continued to have our smoke chats like our first hunt together and Merle would sometimes join us but would usually just go somewhere else after giving a "secret" wink at Daryl.

Today, Glenn, Morales, Andrea, Jacqui, T-Dog, and surprisingly Merle were going to Atlanta to go get more supplies since we were running a little low on food.

"You guys be careful okay? Try to get as many supplies as you can and be back here by tomorrow night," Shane was instructing the group as I walked over there and they all nodded.

"Don't worry, Shane, we'll be fine," Andrea told him and he sighed and then walked away towards Carl.

"Hey guys," I greeted them and they all smiled and greeted me.

"So all I have to say is be careful and don't do anything stupid," I told them and they nodded.

"Take care of my family will you?" Morales asked and I nodded.

"Of course I will," I told them and he smiled.

"Take care of Amy please?" Andrea asked.

"You'll try to kick my ass if I didn't so," I told her and she smirked.

"Try not tah miss me too much, sweet cheeks!" Merle shouted from where he leaned against the car that they were using.

"Don't worry, I won't," I told him and Andrea chuckled.

"Ye think ya won't but I bet yah will," Merle told me and I rolled my eyes.

"Keep a good eye out on him, he's naturally stupid," I told Glenn and he chuckled.

"Heard that!" Merle shouted and I rolled my eyes.

"Well, I'll see you guys around," I told them and I gave each of them a hug and I flipped off Merle one last time before I walked over to Maddy who trying to comfort Eliza.

"Don't worry Eliza, they'll be okay," Maddy told her.

"B-but, my daddy's doesn't have a gun and he can't run fast!" Eliza cried out and I crouched to get to Eliza's level and she turned and face me.

"Don't be scared Eliza, I've done a lot of missions without a gun and I'm still alive plus you don't have to be fast to outrun walkers," I told her and she sniffled.

"But what if he does die?" Eliza asked.

"He won't die, your dad is super smart and he'll do anything to come back to you. When there's a will, there's always a way, you just need to think that he'll make it and he will, I promise," I told her and she smiled.

"O-okay," She told me and I smiled.

"There we go, now how about you two go get Sophia and we can play some Apples to Apples?" I asked and Eliza grinned.

"Come on!" Maddy told her and they ran off towards Sophia who was talking to her mom.

I watched them chat to Sophia and I didn't notice Daryl sneak up on me.

"Ye're really good with kids," Daryl commented and I jumped.

"Damn, it's been a while since someone snuck up on me like that," I told him and he chuckled.

"Wanna go smoke?" Daryl offered and I shooke my head.

"Nah, I already promised the kids to play with them, maybe later?" I asked and he nodded.

"Sure I guess," Daryl mumbled.

"So how do you feel about Merle leaving?" I asked and we glanced over to whereAmy was gripping onto Andrea for dear life and Glenn was talking to the rest of his group about somehting.

"Merle was high when he volunteered and he commented a day ago he was running low on his drugs so I bet he's just going to get drugs, fuckin idiot," Daryl mumbled and I nodded.

"I bet Merle will be back soon as long as he doesn't do anything too stupid," I told him and he snorted.

"He'll do somethin' stupid, trust me," Daryl told me and I nodded and I watched the girls sprint over to me.

"Carol said it was okay for Sophia to play!" Eliza informed me as they walked over to us.

"Wanna play with us, Daryl?" Maddy asked.

"We're playing Apples to Apples!" Sophia told him.

"What tha hell is Apples tah Apples?" Daryl asked.

"It's a game Amy taught us! We could teach you!" Maddy told him.

"Nah," Daryl shook his head.

"Come on Daryl, it's actually fun," I told him but he still refused.

"Please?" I asked.

"I don't wanna play some stupid game!" Daryl snapped and I rolled my eyes.

"Alright whatever, I'll see you later," I told him and I lead the girls to the RV while Daryl sighed and stormed off.

A few hours after the group has gone and we had begun our game of Apples to Apples, we decided to have one last game and then the girls would go hang out with Amy down at the lake.

"I won!" Eliza cried victouriously as she took her 5th green car and showed us with a smirk on her face.

"Good job guys," I complimented them as we slid out of the RV seats.

"Thanks!" Sophia smiled.

"Can we go to the lake now?" Maddy asked.

"Of course," I told them and they rushed to go find Amy and I went on a hunt to find Daryl so we could smoke.

Soon enough, I found him at the lake, angrily throwing rocks into the lake.

"If you're trying to make them skip then you're doing it wrong," I commented as I placed my hands in my jean pockets and he turned towards me in surprise.

"Wasn't tryin to skip rocks," He mumbled.

"Then leave the poor rocks alone, they didn't do anything to you," I joked and I earned a half smile from him.

"So wanna go smoke?" I asked.

"Nah, Shane told me that I hafta go huntin' today," Daryl answered.

"Bummer, do you want me to join?" I asked.

"Nah, I'm gonna go pretty far and I bet Maddy would miss ya," Daryl shrugged and I smiled.

"When are you leaving?" I asked.

"Eh, probably in an hour or so, wanna be back when Merle gets back," Daryl answered and I nodded.

"Glad you feel optimistic about Merle," I smiled at him.

"Someone has ta," Daryl replied.

"Well, I'll see you later I guess, don't get bit," I told him and he nodded.

"Later Cass," Daryl nodded.

"Later," I waved goodbye and began my hike back and I felt like I was being watch again but I knew it was just Daryl.

**Hello! Sorry this took forever to write, I've been having a huge case of writer's block on all of my stories so it's been taking me a while to get over it but luckily I got over the block for this story! Anyways, please follow, favorite, and/or review if you enjoyed it! Toodles! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

"Cass! Cass!" Maddy exclaimed as she ran over to me.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"Amy heard someone over the radio!" Maddy told me the same way she would tell someone that she won a million dollars.

"What did the person say?" I asked.

"Something about heading into Atlanta but we weren't able to contact him and then Lori and Shane got into a fight," Maddy told me and I hid a smirk from her.

"Maybe he'll run into our scavengers," I told her as we walked back to the campfire.

"I'm going to go play with Sophia and Eliza," Maddy told me.

"Be careful," I warned her and she ran off after she gave me a thumbs up.

"Hey Cass," Carl walked up to me and I smiled.

"Hey Carl, what's up?" I smiled and asked him.

"Um, can you teach me how to shoot like Maddy?" Carl asked me with a smile.

"Is your mom okay with it?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, suspecting that this would happen thanks to Amy.

"Maybe but she doesn't have to know!" Carl exclaimed as I sighed.

"What will she think when she hears gunshots?" I asked him.

"That Daryl found a deer?" He asked.

"Daryl uses a crossbow," I told him.

"Please?" Carl asked, giving me the puppy dog eyes.

"Only if your mom is okay with it," I told him.

"You know my mom won't let me!" Carl whined.

"Once your mom gives me consent to teach you, I will definitely teach you but until then I'm not teaching you," I told him and he looked confused for a minute.

"What does consent mean?" Carl asked.

"Permission," I answered and he groaned.

"Look, I don't need your mom hating me anymore than she does now," I told him.

"Fine, I guess," Carl sighed.

"I'm glad you understand, Carl," I told him with a smile.

"Wanna play tag with Louis and me?" Carl asked and I smiled.

"Sure," I told him.

"You're it!" Carl tagged me and then ran off to a giggling Louis.

"That little imp," I mumbled as I began to chase the boys and they quickly scattered.

After a few hours of tag which later involved Sophia, Maddy, Eliza, Amy, and we even convinced Andrea to join for a little, the kids were worn out and after dinner, they all went straight to bed.

"Well, it seems the children are pretty exhausted," Dale joked as Maddy gave me a quick hug and then walked towards our tent.

"Thanks to Cassandra," Carol smiled from where she sat next to Ed at the campfire since I was able to "convince" Ed to move over here.

"How do you keep up with them for so long? I would probably be a dead woman by now," Lori joked and I smiled.

"Let me tell you, I'm exhausted even for playing 10 minutes with them!" Andrea exclaimed and everyone gave a chuckle.

"Years of training," I shrugged.

"Speaking of which, we haven't heard a single mission story from you and I've been wanting to hear one," Dale told me with a smile.

"Yeah, the only one you've ever told was with the kids," Amy told me and soon everyone was asking for a story except for Ed.

"Alright, someone give me a continent or a country," I sighed as I plopped onto the floor and leaned on the log I was previously sitting on.

"You've been everywhere?" Jacqui asked in surprise.

"I've been to every continent, no promises on countries," I told them.

"I've always wanted to go to Germany," Carol suggested with a soft smile.

"I've been to Germany 6 times," I told them.

"What's it like?" Shane asked.

"It's incredible, that's for sure, Neuschwanstein was incredible, just like a fairytale castle," I smiled.

"You've been there?" Amy asked.

"Yep and inside it as well," I smiled.

"Well, you have to tell us that story!" Dale exclaimed and I smiled.

"Alright, the story begins about two years ago when I get a call from my boss telling me to get my ass to my office," I began my story and soon enough, everyone was listening to the story.

**This one was pretty much a filler chapter that way I can get into the good stuff in the next couple of chapters. Toodles! :)**


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